Death kindly stops to pick up the speaker of the poem. They ride together in a carriage past a school, grain fields, and the setting sun. They pause before a house that seems to be swelling from the ground, with a barely visible roof and cornice enveloped in the earth. The speaker reflects that though centuries have passed, the journey with Death still feels shorter than the day it began, when they first understood the horses were headed toward eternity.
2. Because I could not stop for Death—
He kindly stopped for me—
Form The Carriage held but just Ourselves—
And Immortality—
Type of Poem
Number of Stanza We slowly drove— He knew no haste
And I had put away
Number of Verses
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility—
We passed the School, where Children strove
Meaning At Recess— in the Ring—
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain—
Per line read We passed the Setting Sun—
2 Tippet:
Short cape
Or rather— He passed Us—
1 The Dews drew quivering and chill—
Gossame For only Gossamer¹, my Gown
My Tippet²— only Tulle³—
covering just
r: the shoulders
3 Tulle:
Thin, We paused before a House that seemed
sheer
A Swelling of the Ground—
The Roof was scarcely visible—
Soft net
The Cornice— in the Ground— fabric
Since then— ‘tis Centuries- and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses’ Heads
24 Were toward Eternity—
3. Because I could not stop for Death—
He kindly stopped for me—
Speaker The Carriage held but just Ourselves—
And Immortality—
The dead person
We slowly drove— He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility—
We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess— in the Ring—
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain—
We passed the Setting Sun—
2 Tippet:
Short cape
Or rather— He passed Us—
1 The Dews drew quivering and chill—
Gossame For only Gossamer¹, my Gown
My Tippet²— only Tulle³—
covering just
r: the shoulders
3 Tulle:
Thin, We paused before a House that seemed
sheer
A Swelling of the Ground—
The Roof was scarcely visible—
Soft net
The Cornice— in the Ground— fabric
Since then— ‘tis Centuries- and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses’ Heads
Were toward Eternity—
4. Because I could not stop for Death—
He kindly stopped for me—
Setting The Carriage held but just Ourselves—
And Immortality—
The setting of the
poem are several We slowly drove— He knew no haste
areas, because the And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
speaker and the For His Civility—
gentleman, Death,
We passed the School, where Children strove
are going for a ride in At Recess— in the Ring—
acarriageinatown. We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain—
We passed the Setting Sun—
They pass through a 2 Tippet:
school, a playground
Short cape
Or rather— He passed Us—
1
full of children, a The Dews drew quivering and chill—
farmer’s field, and an
Gossame For only Gossamer¹, my Gown
My Tippet²— only Tulle³—
covering just
enveloped cornice. r: the shoulders
3 Tulle:
They also pass by the Thin, We paused before a House that seemed
sheer
A Swelling of the Ground— Soft net
“SettlingSun.” The Roof was scarcely visible—
The Cornice— in the Ground— fabric
Finally, they end their
journey in the Since then— ‘tis Centuries- and yet
graveyard. Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses’ Heads
Were toward Eternity—
5. Because I could not stop for Death—
He kindly stopped for me—
Alliteration The Carriage held but just Ourselves—
Whatisit? And Immortality—
We slowly drove— He knew no haste
Refers to the And I had put away
repetition of a
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility—
particular sound i
n the
We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess— in the Ring—
first syllables of a We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain—
We passed the Setting Sun—
series of words or
phrases Or rather— He passed Us—
The Dews drew quivering and chill—
(not always) For only Gossamer¹, my Gown
My Tippet²— only Tulle³—
We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground—
Can you The Roof was scarcely visible—
The Cornice— in the Ground—
find the
one I am Since then— ‘tis Centuries- and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
missing? I first surmised the Horses’ Heads
Were toward Eternity—