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  • Essay / Analyzing the lyrical appeal of Emily Dickinson's poem

    'Because I Couldn't Stop to Die' explores the inevitability of death and the uncertainties surrounding what happens after death death of people. “Death” is personified as a “kind” gentleman who takes the reader on a mysterious journey through time. Unlike most lyric poetry, the poem was not given any title by the poet. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Dickinson incorporates her typical form, using six quatrains, with each stanza representing different stages of the speaker's symbolic journey. What distinguishes it from the dominant aesthetic of its time is the way in which it tends to move away from the pattern. What his contemporaries might have called spasmodic, imperfectly rhymed and lacking in form, we see today as a skilful interaction of meaning and music. Most of the poem continues with this regular meter, although the ABCB rhyme scheme diverges into false rhymes: "meimmortality", "awayCivility", "RingSun", "chillTulle". In the British tradition, the term "lyric" refers to short, intimate poems, often written in the first person and directly expressing the speaker's thoughts and feelings. Conversely, lyric poetry's emphasis on interiority and individuality meant that it became increasingly popular from the Romantic period onwards; it is the default mode of “modern” or “bourgeois” poetry. Dickinson's poems are lyrics, generally defined as short poems with a single speaker, not necessarily the poet, who expresses their thoughts and feelings. As in most lyric poetry, the speaker in Dickinson's poems is often identified with the first person "I". Despite this, Dickinson reminded the reader that the "I" in her poetry does not necessarily speak for the poet himself: "When I declare myself, as the representative of the verse, it does not mean me, but a supposed person. ". In this poem, the “I” addresses the reader as “you.” Another essential characteristic of lyric poetry is the types of moods and emotions the poem expresses. These emotions tend to lean towards the extremes of life. Fittingly, Dickinson, like much of her work, centers the poem on “Death,” who is “kind” and “civil” in her personification and allusions. Dickinson incorporates a kind of humorous irony that although she "couldn't stop to die," "Death" takes the time to "stop kindly" for her. Humor is not traditionally associated with authentic lyric poetry, but Dickinson's transcendental humor and irony are some of the deep sources of her popularity. Lyrics tend to follow a formal structure that dictates their form, rhythm, and rhyme scheme. One of the most commonly used meters in lyric poetry is iambic meter, which Dickinson skillfully incorporates into the poem. The strong rhythmic pattern of the form contributes to the musicality of the poem, portraying a typically lyrical quality. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Overall, without elaborate philosophy, but with compelling ways of In this expression, Dickinson's poems have a real lyrical appeal, because they bring out abstractions, such as love, hope, solitude, death and immortality, close, intimate and faithful..