简析艾米莉-狄金森的《因为我不能停步等候死神》获奖科研报告

简析艾米莉?狄金森的《因为我不能停步等候死神》获奖科研报告摘

要：在19世紀，美国文学史上出现了一位具有传奇色彩的女诗人，她的诗特别之处在于她对生活的态度、对哲学的思考、对永恒的探索。她就是艾米丽狄金森，一个与她的时代格格不入的伟大诗人，一个具有独立主见的女性代表。

艾米丽生前写了近1800首诗，但只出版过7首。自从她25岁起，艾米丽就开始与外界隔绝，闭门不出，专注于庭院和诗。“BecauseIcouldnotstopforDeath”是一首围绕死亡和永恒的诗，字里行间流露出她对生命延续，灵魂永生的思考。

关键词：艾米丽·迪金森

死亡

永生

诗歌

ABriefAnalysisofBECAUSEICOULDNOTSTOPFORDEATHbyEmilyDickinson

Abstract：In19thcentury，therewasalegendarypoetessinAmericanhistory，whosepoemswereempoweredbyhowshelookedatthisworld，howmuchsheponderedaboutthephilosophyandhowsheexploredtheeternitywhichmadeherfairlyidiosyncratic.ShewasEmilyDickinson，agreatpoetesswhodifferedfromothersinherage，anindependentfemalerepresentativewithmindandtalents.

Emilywrotenearly1800poemsinherlifebutonly7ofthemgotpublished.Sinceshewas25，Emilystartedtoisolateherselffromthesociety.Therewerebasicallytwothingsthatshecaredinherlife——hergardenandpoems.“BecauseIcouldnotstopforDeath”isapoemcenteredonthesubjectofdeathandeternity，whichgivesvoicetoheropinionsaboutthecontinuityoflifeandthethinkingoftheimmortalspirit.

Keywords：EmilyDickinson

death

eternity

poetry

ItisgenerallybelievedthatthispoemreflectstheviewsofdeathofEmilyDickinson，thatis，toacceptdeathcalmlysothatthehumanmindscanobtaintheeternity.Nevertheless，unlikeotherpoemswithdeathasthetheme，thispoemanthropomorphizesdeathandimmortality，andwhatmakesitspecialisthatDickinsonparticularlycomparesdeathtoagentleman，whichupendsthedetestablefeaturesofdeathinthetraditionalsensewhileshestillbeingawareofitstruepurposethroughouttheexcursioninthepoem.SuchimagespresentedinpoemsarebrilliantandrareandHaroldBloom（1994）onceacclaimedEmilyabouthercreativetalentsandbelievedthatshewasnolessgiftedthanShakeSpearintheaspectofcreativity.

Thisessayprimarilyfocusesontheanalysisofthepoem“BecauseIcouldnotstopforDeath”bydiscussingthreeaspects：structureandmetrics，theapplicationsofrhetoricaldevicesanditseffectsandthetheme.Byvirtueofsearchingrelatedmaterialsandreadinglotsofsurveys，thispaperisgoingtoexplainandpresentwhythispoemplaysakeyroleinthehistoryofAmericanliterature.

1StructureandMetrics

1.1Thebriefanalysisofthecontentofthepoem

Thepoem“BecauseIcouldnotstopforDeath”iswrittenbyEmilyDickinsonwhoisahighlyreputedAmericanpoetess.AsrepresentativesofRomanticismintheUnitedStates，DickinsonandWaltWhitmanareconsideredthemostaccomplishedpoetsinthe19thcentury.

“TheywerepioneersinAmericanpoetrypointingtoEzraPoundandtheImagists，andtoWilliamCarlosWilliamsandWallaceStevensandothertraditionsinmodernAmericanpoetry.”（常耀信，2019）

Amongaround1800poemscompletedbyher，thispiecesharesasimilarsubjectasherotherpoemsbuthasitsownuniquenessandisofgreatvaluetodiveintothesubstance.

Sameasmanyofherpoetrywhichrarelyhavetitles，“BecauseIcouldnotstopforDeath”isthefirstlineinthepoem，whichcannormallybeservedasthetitleofthewholepieceofwork.Itdepictsascenewherealadywhogotintoacarriagewaitingforherwhichwasundercontrolof“agentleman”----“Death”，accompaniedby“aseemingfriend”----“Immortality”inadreamymanner.Theydroveslowly，andenthralledbyhischarm，theladygaveawayherworkandsparetimeforthepolitenessof“Death”.Theypassedtheschoolwherechildrenweretakingabreak，thefieldwherecropswereripeandthesun-settingmoment.Atsomepoint，shefeltthechilly“Drew”，whichremindedherof“Gossamer”，her“Gown”.Eventually，theystoppedatfrontofa“House”whose“Cornice”was“intheGround”，namely，itwasatomb.Itseemedthatcenturieshavepassedsincethen，yetitwasthefirsttimethatshediscovered“theHorsesHeadsweretowardEternity.”

1.2Theconfigurationandmetricsofthepoem

ItisnoticeablethatthepoetryofDickinsonhascharacteristicsofconciseness，implicationandprofoundness.Thestructureofthispoemisnotsophisticated，withtwenty-fourlinesintotalandsixstanzasofwhicheachcontainsfourlines.Thequatrainisoneofherusualformsofpoetryanditsrhythmissimpleandlight.Eachstanzarhymeswiththesecondorthefourthlinesbasicallyappliedtotheuseofiambictrimeter，andthefirstorthethirdlineofeachstanzaareiniambictetrameter.

Infact，suchaformathadalsobeenusedbythepre-romanticpoetRobertBurnsinhisfamouswork“ARed，RedRose”inthelate18thcentury.However，Dickinsonherselfwastooindividualtoliveuptothestandardsofherpredecessors.Fromthefourthverseofthepoem，themeterdoesn'tfollowtherulesofiambictrimeteroriambictetrameter.ItsarrangementbearsabitresemblancetoBalladstanzainEnglishpoetry.

Itmightbeconsideredthatsheappreciatedsuchanancientformrepresentingthelivesandemotionsofordinarypeople.Thus，“BecauseIcouldnotstopforDeath”hasbecomeoneofherfinestpoemscontainedexquisiteemotionspresentingthroughitssuccinctconfigurationandcharacteristicmetrics.

2Theapplicationofrhetoricaldevicesanditseffects

2.1Theuseofpersonification

Thepracticeofrepresentingobjects，qualities，etc.ashumanbeingsinthispoemgivesvoicetothevividimaginationofEmilyDickinsonandherviewsoftheultimatequestionsabouthumanbeings，thatis，deathandeternity.In“BecauseIcouldnotstopforDeath”，therearequiteafewobjectsexhibitedincapitalsandsuchexpressionseemstobegivenmorehumaneelementsandspirit.Firstofall，themostnoteworthyapplicationofpersonificationisthecapitalizedDeath，whichcanbeinterpretedasagentlemanwaitingforthespeakerwithpolitenessanddecorum.ThroughtheanthropomorphicDeathandthetransformationofhimintoamanofkindness，“BecauseIcouldnotstopforDeath—/Hekindlystoppedforme，”（1-2）itseemsthatthestereotypeofdeath，horribleandscary，hasbeenbroken，however，atthesametime，itisnotunderhercontroltostopforDeathandshealsohasthevagueawarenessofthegreatpowerofDeathoverher.Thenshegetsintohis“Carriage”，whichisalsowrittenincapitals，suggestingDeath，drivinghiscar，moreofapursuerofthespeaker.Apartfromthat，thethirdcompanionis“Immortality”，quitetheoppositeofDeath，whichispersonifiedaswell.Thus，instanza1，twoprimaryobjectscoatedwithtypicalcharacterspresentaharmoniouspicturebyvirtueofpersonification.

2.2Theuseofsymbolism

Thewell-craftedapplicationofsymbolismleadsthepoemuptoahigherlevelwithin-depththinking.AccordingtoShaw，theimagesof“School，”“GazingGrain，”and“SettingSun”instanza3standasacompellingdepictionof“thethreestagesoflife.”（1991：20）.

AsisshowninFig.2-2，thespeakergoesthroughthreestagesofoneslife：childhood，adulthoodandoldage，andtheyareembodiedbythetypicalcharacteristics

ineachstagerespectively：hard-workingandenergeticChildren，thefruitfulcropsandthesettingsun.Whatsmore，thestageofyouthcanalsobeconsideredasatenserivalryinonesearlyyears.Inthisregard，Engle，Patricia（2002：74）pointedoutthat

‘thechildrenstriving“intheRing”canrepresentthethrashingsofprofessionalcompetitionthatoccurinladder-climbingstagesofonescareer.Thesensehereisreminiscentofthelife-changingvisionsofonesowndeathaffordedinDickenssChristmasCarolorCaprasItsaWonderfulLife.

Viewingthreestagesinherlife，sheseemstoreadytoembracewhatwillhappennextwithgreatcomposureandself-assurancecomparedtowhatEbenezerScroogereactsafterwitnessingthepast，presentandfuture.Therefore，aspanoflifetimeishighlycondensedinfourlineswithingeniouschoiceofrepresentativesandtheapplicationofsymbolism.

3Theme

3.1Thedepictionof“Death”

TheideaofDeathisquitedifferentforDickinsonfromotherpoetsandphilosophers.Farland（1998：96）claimedthat：

“EmilyDickinsonscontemporaneouspiecesportrayadestabilizingandunfamiliarafterworldthatradicallycontrastswiththedomesticatedversioninAmericansentimentalpoetryoftheperiod.”

EspeciallyinthispoemwhichDeathrepresentsakindgentlemanwithoutthrillingterror.Itisnotsodevastatingtoacceptonesultimatefate，thatis，tofacethefactthathumanbeingsaremortal.Instead，sheconsidereditasawaytoembraceanewlifeorratherthebeginningofaspiritualworld.

IntheviewsofEngle（2002：75）intermsofthevaluesofDickinsononthesubjectofdeath，whoseideawasthat，‘Dickinsonsdeadreckoninginthispoemposesthesamesortofjoyfulabandonmenttothelife-deathcontinuumasWhitmandoesin“SongofMyself：“Allgoesonwardandoutward，nothingcollapses，/Andtodieisdifferentfromwhatanyonesupposed，andluckier（127-28）.

Despitethefactthatleavingthetemporalworldseemslessintimidatingandthespeakerismorelikelytoencounteritwithmuchcomposureinthepoem，yetherattitudetowardsdeathisstillequivocal.Thepowerofdeathhidesbehindhismodestandgentlemanlyappearancethatmanypeopleareeasilydeceived.Thepoetessisconscious，nonetheless，death'soutwardfriendlinesscannotalterthetruththathiscruelnaturewilldestroyonesownfreedomofwillandthatthelifeoftheindividualisdestinedtobelimited.

Inpoemssuchas“BecauseIcouldnotstopforDeath”and“IdiedforBeauty”，EveC.Sorum（2012：96）maintainedthat，

“Dickinsonneitherexultsintheomnisciencethatdeathprovides（likeRossettiin“Remember”）norreadslossinlightofaparticularrelationship（likeShakespeare，forexample）.Instead，theposthumousvoiceinDickinsonexistsinananonymousworld，dwellinguponthealienationinherentinmortality.”

Therefore，“BecauseIcouldnotstopforDeath，”whichattemptstopresenttheenjoyablejourneyofgoingthroughdeathsomuchthat“AndIhadputaway/Mylaborandmyleisuretoo”（6-7），revealsitsupsettingtensioninthefollowingstanzaswherethespeakercomestorealizationthetip-uptimesettings：“WepassedtheSettingSun//Orrather—HepassedUs—”（12-13）.Tosumup，thedepictionofDeathismorethanone-sidedandthroughitsdualitytheexperiencebecomesmoreinvitinguntilthemomentwhenthespeakerfinds“towardEternity”.

3.2Therelationshipof“Death”and“Immortality”

Atthebeginningoftheexcursion，thespeakerisnotonlyaccompaniedbyDeath，butalsoImmortalitywhoseemstobeatoddswithDeathintheCarriage.Tosomedegree，Dickinsonstrovetoextractandcombinesimilaritiesanddiscrepanciesbetweenthem.AccordingtoDonGilliland（2009：42-43），

“Dickinsoncombinesmaterialismandspiritualityinthefamiliarfirststanzaof“BecauseIcouldnotstopforDeath—，”inwhichboth“Death”and“Immortality”accompanythespeaker...Here，thephysicalityof“Death”—thematerialtransitionfrombodytodust—conjoinswithandcontraststothemetaphysicsof“Immortality.”

Itcanbethoughtthatshetreasuredboththeworldofmaterialityandthetranscendentrealm.Besides，Engle（73）alsoarguedthat，

“Shejugglestemporalwitheternal，corporalwithspiritual，andlifewithdeathdeftly，inmercurialshiftsbetweenmicroandmacroviewsoftheworldsaroundher，withinher，andbeyondher.Playfulorplaintive，herawarenessofbeingonaspiritualsearchisasapparentasherawarenessthatsheisnotwhatherpeopleandhertimesexpecthertobe.”

Eventhoughthestructureofthepoemisnottheexpectedlinearpatternfollowingstrictrules，yetitstillmanagestosuggesttheblendofthetemporalityandeternity，echoedbyShawthat“sugges[t]theinterconnectedandmutuallydeterminednatureofthefiniteandinfinite.”（1991：20）.

Thus，theexistenceofDeathandImmortalityisthedichotomyofthepursuitofoneslifebothphysicallyandspirituallybutbothofthemcanalsobecombinedtogethertocreateaworldwhereonespsycheseemstolastforeverevenwithouttheconcretizationofthebody.

4Conclusion

EmilyDickinsonhasbeenconsideredoneofthepioneersofmodernisticpoetryinthetwentiethcentury.Herpoemscarrythesenseofsimplicityyetsophistication，subtletyyetprofoundnessand“BecauseIcouldnotstopforDeath”compressesallheruniqueattitudesandstylesconveyingtheeternityofspiritandhowdeathcanbeseenasthebeginningoflife.

Thepowerofdeathishighlighted，beingrecognizedasagentlemanwithgoodmannersyetitisthroughthoselineswheresherevealedhowlimitedhumanfreedomcanbeastheyhavenocontrolintheirowndeath.InherletteraccordingtoThomasJohnson（1958），sheevenexpressedhowhopelessandhelplessshefeltsinceallhumanbeingsaremortal.

Thispoem，thus，exertsmoreinfluenceoninspiringpeopletoconsiderthosephilosophi