What is the rhyme scheme in Emily Dickinson's poem "Because I could not stop for Death"?
The type of rhyme referred to above can also be called approximate rhyme, slant rhyme, or half rhyme. All these terms mean basically the same thing: the words are close to a perfect rhyme, but off by a little.
This use of slant rhyme is one of the things that makes Emily’s poetry special. It was much less common in her day than it is now, when most poetry followed more exact rules about form and meter. Obviously, she was not concerned with writing for the purpose of gaining fame or admiration, because many of her poems contain this kind of rhyme. Perhaps that is one of the reasons that she did not publish her poetry in her lifetime.
Although it may seem a bit unusual at first to encounter this kind of rhyme, a reader can quickly get accustomed to it. Anybody who sat down and read a handful...
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
of Dickinson’s short poems in one sitting would probably stop thinking that these rhymes sound any different than an exact rhyme.
Although some people may consider a poet’s use of slant rhyme to be a drawback or an indication of lesser skill, one must remember that the paramount concern of any poet is make their point as powerfully as possible. Sometimes it is not possible to find exact rhymes to convey a thought or emotion. We will never know how many poets have decided to discard an idea because they couldn’t find the rhyme they wanted. Dickinson, on the other hand, had a much richer store of words at her disposal, since she was such a master of the slant rhyme.
Videos
The rhyme scheme in Emily Dickinson’s poem “Because I could not stop for Death” is ABCB. Nevertheless, this American poet did take liberties with this model and doesn’t strictly observe exact rhyme in this poem.
The poem deals with the subject that death is in control so-to-speak when it comes to our lives. We have plans, aspirations, agendas, and such, and we want to continue on with really nothing getting in our way. However, Death (personified) is a tyrant in a way. It does not care about our concerns and promotes its own agenda, despite our best efforts to ultimately thwart it.
“Because I could not stop for Death” consists of six stanzas, each having four lines. The first stanza observes the ABCB rhyme scheme in a strict manner. Line two rhymes with line four exactly, with the words “me” and “Immortality”.
Stanza number two plays more loosely with the rhyme. In line two of this stanza, the last word is “away”. In line four of this stanza the last word is “Civility”, almost prompting the reader to modify the pronunciation to say “Civilitay” to keep a more strict rhyme because of the precedent set in the first stanza.
Stanza number three doesn’t really adhere to the ABCB rhyme scheme. It is a variation. Variation is used to great effect in formal poetry. It jars the readers “reading” in a sense. It breaks what can sometimes be a monotony to regular, metrical, rhyming poetry. It prevents a reader from falling into a type of trance, a slave to the meter, rhythm, and rhyme that embodies the poem.
The reader can become bored or indifferent as a poem can sometimes plod along in this manner; the reader ends up concentrating on the pull of the musicality of the poem and doesn’t ponder the actual meaning of the poem.
Try reading a long poem that observes strict meter and rhyme and see what can sometimes happen. As a result, variation is an excellent tool when use judiciously in formal poetry. The end word in line two of this stanza is “Ring”. The end word in line four of this stanza is “Sun”. No rhyme here. So, the rhyme scheme of stanza three is ABCD.
The last three stanzas revert to the rhyme scheme of the first two stanzas. Again, it is not strict rhyme all the time. Stanza number four does not adhere to exact rhyme with the words “chill” and “Tulle”. There is an inferred rhyme here – a loose rhyme.
Stanza number five has precise rhyme – the same two words “Ground”. Stanza number six has a loose rhyme again with the words “Day” and “Eternity”. Once again, this is almost prompting the reader to modify the pronunciation to say “Eternitay”.
What is the rhythm of the poem "Because I could not stop for Death"?
The poem is written in an iambic meter, meaning that every other syllable is stressed. The first line, for example, reads, "Because I could not stop for death." The syllables I have highlighted in bold are the ones that are naturally stressed, or emphasized. This alternating pattern of stresses creates a steady, pleasing rhythm, and perhaps echoes the calm, positive feelings of the speaker.
Every line also has an even number of syllables, with the number of syllables per line alternating between eight and six. This means, in combination with the iambic meter, that the final syllable of every line is emphasized. When the final syllable of a line is stressed, this creates a rising meter, as opposed to a falling meter, which is created when the final syllable of a line is not stressed. With a rising meter, a rising intonation is created, imparting to the poem a more positive, uplifting tone. This uplifting tone is appropriate for this poem, which presents a positive interpretation of death.
When a poem is written in an iambic meter, and the lines alternate between eight and six syllables, this is called a common, or hymn meter. The hymn "Amazing Grace," also has a common meter, meaning you could sing "Because I Could Not Stop For Death" to the tune of "Amazing Grace."
The poem's written in ballad meter, alternating lines of iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter, rhyming ABAB. I'll show you what I mean.
An iamb is a weak beat followed by a strong beat (de DUM). So all you have to do is count the iambs:
de DUM de DUM de DUM de DUM (4)
Because I could not stop for Death,
de DUMde DUM de DUM (3)
He kindly stopped for me;
de DUM de DUM de DUM de DUM (4)
The carriage held but just ourselves
de DUMdeDUMdeDUM (3)
And Immortality.
A line with four iambs is an iambic tetrameter. A line with three is an iambic trimeter. And this form is commonly thought of as "ballad meter". Hope it helps!
In "Because I could not stop for Death—," the speaker translates death into concrete terms. She imagines the personified figures of Death and Immortality stopping in a carriage to take her away on the journey to this other realm. She visualizes time slowing by showing the carriage very slowly passing by scenes such as children playing at recess in a schoolyard, fields of grain, and a sunset. It gets chillier as the speaker journeys more fully into death: presumably her body is getting colder. Finally, the carriage arrives at a strange new house with the roof just above the ground—her grave.
What is notable about this poem is the detached way the speaker regards death, as well as the way it is conceived in terms of everyday domestic details of middle-class life in the nineteenth century: a carriage ride, a "kindly" gentleman, a schoolyard, a dress and tippet, and finally, the arrival at a new "House." Yet all of these common elements are defamiliarized and made eerie by the speaker's experience of the journey. Time slows down to the point that the "Centuries" since the speaker died seem shorter than a day, and she observes the world from a strange distance as she adjusts to her new reality.