In the poem "Because I could not stop for Death," Dickinson treats death as a person. Giving human traits and qualities to nonhuman things and ideas is a common literary technique. It is called personification, and it is a main literary technique used in this poem.
In reality, death marks the end of a biological life. It is a moment. It does not have a personality, but Dickinson changes that in this poem. She turns...
In the poem "Because I could not stop for Death," Dickinson treats death as a person. Giving human traits and qualities to nonhuman things and ideas is a common literary technique. It is called personification, and it is a main literary technique used in this poem.
In reality, death marks the end of a biological life. It is a moment. It does not have a personality, but Dickinson changes that in this poem. She turns death into a person. Treating death as a person is not a new idea. However, Dickinson definitely bucks the traditional personification of death. Most readers might think of Death as an old guy dressed in all black who carries a scythe, but Dickinson portrays Death as a kindly gentleman. He pulls his carriage up to her and kindly picks her up. The two of them then casually and calmly ride through the town's streets. The poem creates a beautiful image of Death and makes the carriage ride seem similar to a date between two lovers.
We slowly drove—He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility—
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