Throughout the history of human kind, there have existed a significant number of poets, who did not care to write about ?happy things.? Rather, they concerned themselves with unpleasant and sinister concepts, such as death. Fascination and personification of death has become a common theme in poetry, but very few poets mastered it as well as Emily Dickinson did. Although most of Dickinson's poems are morbid, a reader has no right to overlook the aesthetic beauty with which she embellishes her ?dark? art. It is apparent that for Dickinson, death is more than an event, which occurs at least once in a lifetime of every being. For her, death is a person, who will take her away with Him, when the right time comes, and if she cannot stop for Him, He will kindly stop for her. Thus, Dickinson's poem ?Because I could not stop for Death? not only makes this vague concept more concrete and creates a very vivid image of death, but also makes us realize that when He comes, there will not be much time to say goodbye to the things that were once near and dear to you, so we should not take them for granted but cherish them while we are still alive. Moreover, her tranquil tone underscores the uselessness of running away from fate. Therefore, when He comes, we should be ready to step into His carriage and not be afraid. He is only a part of our lives.
Even though different people meet Him at different times in their lives, Death is inevitable. It is a phenomenon that will occur, whether a person wants it or not. Emily Dickinson suggests that when it comes, we should not indulge in fighting Him, rather, we should come along slowly and smoothly, looking back at what we are leaving behind.
We slowly drove ' He knew no haste
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility (Dickinson, 367)
This stanza clearly indicates Dickinson's admiration for ?His Civility.? She bows down to the omnipotent He, who knows no haste. She can and will not defy him, for before Him, she is meek as a lamb. She is only a human being, a vulnerable being, whereas, He is eternal and ubiquitous. Hence, running away from Him is impossible and unreasonable. That is why she does not even try to do so. Unlike many other people, Dickinson accepts her mortality. Although the first line of the poem tells us that she could not stop for death, the rest of the poem illustrates that she does not wish to resist Him. Her time has come and she realizes that all she can do at this stage of her life is look at her past and see whether her life was worth living. Her future no longer exists and her memories are the only remnants of her entire being. Seemingly, death does not intimidate Dickinson. Perhaps, she is too brave to be afraid, or maybe, she is too old and too tired. However, most importantly, she remains calm. She ...