“Why I Couldn't Stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson is a poem about a woman who looks back on the day she took a carriage ride with Death and revisits his life before achieving immortality. Dickinson's use of personification and symbolism explores an imaginary journey through the afterlife, illustrating that the inevitability of death is a part of life that need not be feared because it is just the next step on the path to perpetuity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The personification of death as a friendly coachman serves to change its perception in society, showing that even though death is something people usually fear, it is actually just a calming release into the next phase of eternity, because it's actually not the end. Death is personified in the first two lines of the poem when the speaker says, “Because I could not stop for death— / He kindly stopped for me—” (1 - 2). The author begins the poem by immediately characterizing death as gentle, which goes against what the idea of ​​death is usually associated with. The use of the word “kindly” is a surprise because it implies that death is not as cruel or horrible as people seem to think. Now he's just a nice guy who stopped to take the speaker for a carriage ride, not someone to be afraid of. Notice how Dickinson capitalized the word "death" in the first line just as if it were a person's name. This small detail adds to the personification of death, bringing her to life as a character in the poem. This quote shows that death is destiny and is not something that can be controlled. Death appears to be an unexpected and uninvited visitor to the speaker, but it is welcomed nonetheless. He seems to accept his fate, willingly climbing into the carriage, realizing that it was time to go. Death is further humanized when the speaker tells us this: We drove slowly - He knew no hurry And I had put aside even my work and my free time, For His Civilization -. (5 - 8) Another characteristic mentioned in this quote, civility, is added to the personification of Death. Death shows courtesy and respect to the speaker during this journey, then does the same back. He set aside time specifically for her, so by saying that he had "put aside his work and his free time", he emphasized how charming the driver, Death, is. She left everything behind, from work to her hobbies, just so she could go on this journey with him. He is in control of this journey, which is emphasized when the author switches between us and him in the first line of the quote. It's like he realizes halfway through that she's just along for the ride and he's the one who has the power. It seems to pass slowly so that the speaker has time to remember her life and look back before saying goodbye and moving on. In this poem, death is not just an event that ends life, but a person who takes people to the next part: eternity. The use of symbolism throughout the poem provides a deeper meaning to it, demonstrating the significance of the journey from life to life. death and how both depend on the other to exist. The chariot, an important symbol, is first mentioned when he says, "The chariot contained only ourselves / and immortality" (3 - 4). The carriage ride is probably the most important symbol in the poem because it depicts the speaker leaving life and going towards death. In the carriage there are you, Death, and another character,,.