Emily begins this poem by suggesting she was too busy to die. Readers receive the feeling that her death came unexpectedly and death, personified as a gentleman, had to stop for her with his carriage. Since death seems so kind, Emily puts away her work and free time for him as they pass places symbolizing the stages of life. First, they pass a schoolhouse which symbolizes childhood. Next, they pass the gazing grain, referring to adulthood, and finally the setting sun, …show more content…
Blank verse, an abnormal rhyming pattern, makes it more like everyday speech rather than a rhyming poem. The iambic meter gives this poem a natural sound while reading. As for literary devices, alliteration is a reoccurring device in Emily's poem, such as “Gazing Grain,” “Setting Sun,” and “Tippet...Tulle.” By doing so, Emily created extra emphasis on these words to make the poem more memorable. In the middle of the poem, the anaphora “We passed” gives readers the sense the carriage constantly moves and will not stop. All the beautiful imagery in this piece of writing, such as the setting sun, the dew quivering, and the gravestone, involves the readers and makes them feel as if they too sit next to death. Finally, the distinctive personification of death leaves the readers to think about their mortality; is death really so