Emily Dickinson's Collected Poems Lesson Plan

In "Because I could not stop for Death--," what kind of figure does Death appear to be? Is He a friendly or menacing force? Why is this important for the speaker's experience?

Although there are many possible acceptable answers to this question, encourage students to use explicit text evidence and details, as part of Dickinson's unique gift is her ability to use language in interesting and evocative ways. In this poem, students may note the speaker often describes death, using words like "kindly" and saying "He knew no haste" suggesting that Death is being kind and patient with the speaker. Interestingly, though, while Death is...