Carriage to eternity: image of death in Dickinson and Donne

王磊

Dickinson and Donne are unique poets in their own ways. Each of them has their unique understanding of the world around and writes poems daringly and experimentally. Departing from the traditional form and structure， they are innovative both in form and in content， achieving their own aesthetic features of poetry. In “Because I couldn’t stop for death” and “death， be not proud”， both poets concern themselves with death and eternity and， though differing in forms， reach a consensus on themes： death leads finally to eternity.

“Death， be not proud” and “Because I couldn’t stop for death” are apparently different in form. The former is written in the “Petrarchan Sonnet” form， three quatrains in iambic pentameter followed by a couplet. Though not closely， the poem follows the general rhyme pattern of sonnet： abba， abba， cddc， ef. It also has the sonnet turn. Notice， form the third quatrain， the speaker’s tone became fiercer. “Thou art slave to fate， chance， kings， and desperate men / And dost with poison， war， and sickness dwell （line 9，10）.” Compared with Donne， Dickinson is more innovative in form. The poem “Because I couldn’t stop for death” barely follows any traditions， having no fixed rhyme pattern. Some lines are written in iambic tetrameter. “Because I couldn’t stop for death （line 1）.” Some lines contain just a few words. “And Immortality （line 4）.” “For His Civility （line 8）.” There are rules in poetry. Some follows them to achieve certain affect. For the same reason， some poets break rules. Despite their difference in form， both poets have the same innovative spirits within them. They are rule breakers. Donne in his poem breaks the sonnet rules. “Rest of their bones， and soul’s delivery （line 8）.” This line is supposed to rhyme with line 5 according to the general rhyme pattern. But it hasn’t. This line is therefore stands out and gives the reader a signal for the coming of “Sonnet Turns.” The final couplets too are supposed to rhyme. Donne’s deviance from the couplet rules has put extra emphasis on each line. By contrast， Dickinson’s poem is more experimental. Beside the irregular rhyme pattern， the poem also stands out for its syntax and capitalization. Lines are enjambed and certain words are capitalized to add connotation to the poem. “where Children strove / At Recess---in the Ring.” “We paused before a House that seemed / A Swelling of the Ground.”

Both poets apply personification to their poem. Death is personified. But the personalities of death are quite different in the poems. In Donne’s poem， death is personified as weak and swell. “Death， be not proud， though some called thee / Mighty and dreadful， for thou are not so （line 1-2）.” The speaker is not afraid of death as most people do. He rather distains death which is nothing more than rest and prolonged sleep and gives the speaker much pleasure instead of fear. “Die not， poor death， nor yet canst thou kill me / From rest and sleep， which but thy picture be / Much pleasure; then thee much more must flow （line 4-6）.” The speaker thinks that death has no reason to be proud. Death， in the eyes of the speaker， is slaves to men and inferior to opium with regard to sleep. “Thou art slave to fate， chance， kings， and desperate men / and dost with poison， war， and sickness dwell / and poppy or charms can make us sleep as well （line 9-11）.” While in the poem of Dickinson， death is depicted as a considerate gentleman and the speaker seems enjoy a sort of intimacy with death. “Because I could not stop for death / so he kindly stopped for me （line 1-2）.” “I had put away / my labor and my leisure too / for his civility （line 6-9）.” Here， the words “kindly” and “civility” suggest that the person driving the carriage is actually a gentleman. “The carriage held but just Ourselves （line 3）.” “We slowly drove---He knew no haste （line 5）.” The first plural person point of view--- we and ourselves， imply that the speaker has an intimate relationship with death. The speaker may know death for a long time and isn’t amazed when death approaches. Rather she looks quite enjoy the ride with death. Both death and the speaker advance without fear nor hurry. For the speaker in Donne’s poem， death is his arch enemy. He wishes death could die. For the speaker in Dickinson’s poem， death is her old and intimate friend. Together， they go after something eternal and beautiful.

Both poets write daringly and innovatively both in form and in theme. In Donne’s poem， the speaker challenging people’s conventional fear of death， distains death and wishes death could die. Dickinson gets close to death， taking death as her dear old friend. What’s more， both poets view death as a way to achieve immortality. “One short sleep past， we wake eternally / and death shall be no more （line 13-14）.” “I first surmised the Horses’ Head / were toward eternality （line 23-24）.”

參考文獻

[1] The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson. Dickinson， Emily. 1960

[2] John Donne： The Complete English Poems. Donne John. 1971