because i could not stop for death by emily dickinson unit 3
TRANSCRIPT
Because I Could not Stop for Death
by Emily Dickinson
Unit 3
Author
New words
Poetry reading
Appreciation
Exercise
Emily Dickinson(1830-1886)
An American lyrical poet born in Amherst, Massachusetts. She was a very eccentric, private person. She rarely left her house or had any visitors. Her poems often reflected on her loneliness, other feelings and
what mattered to her the most. Emily did not care about money or fame in fact she didn’t want
the public to read her poems. She wrote hundreds of poems but only 7 were released into the
public in her life time.
Author
immortality ( n.) 不朽
civility ( n.) 谦恭
strive ( v.) 奋斗
recess (v.) 休息
dew ( n.) 露珠
quiver ( v.) 颤动
New words
New words
Gossamer- a wedding dress (used to marry death) Tippet- a scarf for the neck and shoulders Tulle- a fine net of silk used especially for wedding veils Cornice- a horizontal molding along top of a wall Surmise- to make a guess or conjecture
Because I could not stop for Death,He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselvesAnd Immortality.
This stanza reveals Emily’s calm acceptance of death.
Death is seen as kind and polite. The journey to her grave begins when death
comes calling.
Poetry reading Appreciation
We slowly drove, he knew no haste,And I had put away
My labor, and my leisure too, For his civility
The drive symbolizes her physical leaving life. He drives her slowly, which could be an
expression of his consideration for her. Having relinquished her labor and leisure for
the ride, she gives death her respect and full attention.
We Passed the school, where children stroveAt recess, in the ring;
We passed the fields of gazing grain,We passed the setting sun.
Here Dickinson speaks about the different stages of her life.
…children at recess symbolizes her childhood …gazing grain, her maturity/adulthood …the setting sun, her final years and decent
into death. The atmosphere surrounding the ride begins to
change when we see the setting sun.
Or rather, he passed us;The dews grew quivering and chill,
For only gossamer my gown,My tippet only tulle.
Being passed by the sun signifies that her life went by quickly.
With the sun setting it becomes dark, damp and cold in contrast to the light and warmth of the preceding stanzas.
Her garments are more appropriate for a wedding, representing a new beginning, that for a funeral, representing an end.
We paused before house that seemedA swelling of the ground;
The roof was scarcely visible,The cornice but a mound.
The word “house” is used as a euphemism for a grave to indicate how comfortable she feels about death.
In this stanza she describes her new home (grave).
Since then ‘tis centuries, and yet eachFeels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses’ heads Were toward eternity.
It’s been centuries since her carriage ride with Death (the time she has been dead).
But the time since, seems shorter than the day of which she was alive.
Exercise 1.What does “He” in the first stanza stand
for? 2.What does the “House” in the fifth stanza
stand for? 3.What did the poet see from the carriage? 4.What is the main idea of the poem?