Question

In at least 100 words, analyze how an action in the poem either affects or does not affect the significance of the meaning in Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for Death.” Use details from the poem to support your response.

Answer 1

One of the actions in the poem that affects the significance of its meaning is the house that Dickinson describes in the following lines:

"We paused before a House that seemed

A Swelling of the Ground – "

In this description, we learn that the carriage that was taking her with death and immortality stops in front of a house. However, the house is underground, and from above it is nothing more than a mound in the ground. This is meant to be a grave, and it becomes the resting place of the author. However, it does not eliminate the concept of immortality, which is also riding on the carriage. We see that the speaker is still aware of time, and is still waiting for the moment of salvation and resurrection.

Answer 2

I think its affect is when The persona of Dickinson's poem meets personified Death. Death is a gentleman caller who takes a leisurely carriage ride with the speaker to her grave.