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    Advancing in Poetry Advancing in Poetry    

Lesson 3: Because I Could Not Stop for Death

by Emily Dickinson

Performer: Librivox - Jason Mills


Because I could not stop for Death –

He kindly stopped for me –

The Carriage held but just Ourselves –

And Immortality.



We slowly drove – He knew no haste

And I had put away

My labor and my leisure too,

For His Civility –



We passed the School, where Children strove

At Recess – in the Ring –

We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –

We passed the Setting Sun –



Or rather – He passed us –

The Dews drew quivering and chill –

For only Gossamer, my Gown –

My Tippet – only Tulle –



We paused before a House that seemed

A Swelling of the Ground –

The Roof was scarcely visible –

The Cornice – in the Ground –



Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet

Feels shorter than the Day

I first surmised the Horses' Heads

Were toward Eternity –

    Advancing in Poetry Advancing in Poetry    

Lesson 3: Because I Could Not Stop for Death

by Emily Dickinson

Performer: Librivox - Jason Mills

Directions

Study the poem for one week.

Over the week:

  • Read or listen to the poem.
  • Review the synopsis.
  • Read about the poet.
  • Complete the enrichment activities.

Synopsis

Emily Dickinson's 'Because I Could Not Stop for Death' ('The Chariot') depicts death as a dignified gentleman driving a carriage and kindly collecting the narrator before embarking on a leisurely drive toward eternity. On the way, they see children enjoying recess at school, fields of grain, the setting sun, and a strangely sunken house. Time flows differently during the carriage ride. A day in death's carriage lasts centuries in the human world.

Concepts

  1. Emily Dickinson was born in 1830 in Amherst, Massachusetts. Study her portrait.
  2. Zoom in and find Dickinson's state of birth, Massachusetts (MA), on the map of the United States.
  3. Dickinson was introverted and reclusive throughout her life.
  4. Dickinson never married and retreated from the rest of the world to regularly stay in her bedroom.
  5. Dickinson did not achieve acclaim for her poetry during her life, publishing less than a dozen poems.
  6. Dickinson's younger sister found hundreds of previously unknown poems after her death, which were eventually published to great acclaim.
  7. Dickinson died of Bright's disease in Amherst, Massachusetts at the age of 55.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Recite Poem Information

Recite the title of the poem and the name of the poet.

Activity 2: Study the Poem Picture

Study the poem picture and describe how it relates to the poem.

Activity 3: Recite the Poem

Practice reciting the poem aloud.

Activity 4: Complete Book Activities   

  • Click the crayon above, and complete pages 14-19 of 'Elementary Poetry 4: Advancing in Poetry.'

References

  1. 'Emily Dickinson.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.

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