The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson Group at eNotes

A chariot is associated with nobility and royalty or high social status,...

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:17:30 PST

A chariot is associated with nobility and royalty or high social status, so the fact that Emily Dickinson uses the chariot when talking about death signifies that the reader should not be frightened or scared about death, that death is only a vehicle to use to get to Heaven. She seems to be saying that in death, no matter what social status or class people are, in death, they are ALL transported to Heaven by a chariot.

In this poem, Emily Dickinson, in a short and concise format, makes it...

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 14:34:34 PST

In this poem, Emily Dickinson, in a short and concise format, makes it clear that death is not the end, but a new beginning.The poet, in the first stanza of the poem, makes it clear that the destination of the chariot is immortality, a positive outcome of death. Living forever is an idea that causes people to pause and consider, the secret dream that lingers in the heart of many, everyone wants to live forever. Therefore, that is death's...

Reader Response to Chariots and Death in Emily Dickinson

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 11:36:39 PST

How can the association of death with a chariot influence the reader's view about death?

The tendency of metaphysical poetry is toward psychological analysis of...

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 11:12:43 PST

The tendency of metaphysical poetry is toward psychological analysis of the emotions of love and religion. The poet's intent is to speak honestly yet unconventionally of life's complexities.Dickinson takes the fearful event of dying and makes it seem almost charming and undaunting. He "kindly stops" for her. She put away her schedule--both work and leisure--for his gentile behavior.He took his time with her, they passed by so many...

The Encyclopedia Britannica defines metaphysical poetry asHighly...

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 11:01:41 PST

The Encyclopedia Britannica defines metaphysical poetry asHighly intellectualized poetry written chiefly in 17th-century England. Less concerned with expressing feeling than with analyzing it, Metaphysical poetry is marked by bold and ingenious conceits (e.g., metaphors drawing sometimes forced parallels between apparently dissimilar ideas or things), complex and subtle thought, frequent use of paradox, and a dramatic directness of language,...

Why can "Because I could not stop for death" be considered a...

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 02:30:09 PST

Why can "Because I could not stop for death" be considered a Metaphysical poem?

The horse's heads symbolize the fate of the speaker, who is being driven...

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 18:18:18 PST

The horse's heads symbolize the fate of the speaker, who is being driven inextricabably to eternity. The reference evokes the biblical symbol of the "Four Horsemen of the Apocolypse," in which the horses represent the last physical state of being: one's final consciousness of life before the abyss of death (the absence of consciousness). Here is the whole stanza, which concludes the poem:Since then -- tis centuries -- and yet /...

“Since then—’tis Centuries—and yet/ Feels shorter than the Day/...

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 18:10:15 PST

“Since then—’tis Centuries—and yet/ Feels shorter than the Day/ I first surmised the Horses Heads/ Were toward Eternity.” As Emily Dickinson was a very religious young woman, it may be safe to conclude that the horses represent the horsemen in Revelation who not only represent eternity, but also the means in which death will come to those on earth after the rapture.However, it is more likely that the horses are just the vehicle in...

In Emily Dickinson's "Because I could not stop for death" what...

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 17:44:42 PST

In Emily Dickinson's "Because I could not stop for death" what do the Horses' Heads symbolize?