"Pale Death with impartial tread beats at the poor

man's cottage door and at the palaces of kings."

Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus, 65-8 B.C.)

Death eventually comes to everyone, and yet it is a phenomenon shrouded in mystery. Scholars and scientists try to understand it, philosophers pose theories and conclusions about it, artists try to capture it between streaks of paint across a canvas, while poets like Emily Dickinson explore it's meaning and influence through verse. Death is like an outward rush into the unknown where there is nothing recognizable and nothing to cling to. The unknown is always feared, and since nothing is known about death or an afterlife, people fear it. What Dickinson's poetry delves into is the undeniable power of death to detach one from life and the pain and sorrow that accompanies it like a dark cloud above it's head.

In There's a Certain Slant of Light , Dickinson uses nature as the backdrop for her description of death, and the elements to describe the silent pain that it brings with it. The poem appears to create some sort of setting for the reader in order to portray this. The sight of a funeral procession entering

Dickinson portrays death as a harsh and crude force that is uncompassionate to human feelings and emotions. It strikes with deadly exactness and brings with it an envelope of grief that suffocates even the hardiest of human beings. It is the primary truth of life. If you live today, you will die someday. If not tomorrow, may be the day after. When the time of reckoning arrives, there is nothing that one can do to prevent one's own destruction.

Literature Resource Center. http://www.galenet.com (10/19/99)

Joyner, Nancy Carol "Because I Could Not Stop for Death: Overview" GaleNet

Another poem that illustrates this viewpoint like no other is Because I Could Not Stop for Death . This poem is an example of the personification of Death as a character. However, it shares an obvious bond with There's a Certain Slant of Light in more ways than one. Certain beliefs and impressions that are embedded in Dickinson's mind permanently force themselves out in her poems and they can be linked together if one scrutinizes her disquieting verses. In this poem, the author indicates that Death is a kindly gentleman who stops by to escort her into her afterlife. "Because I could not stop for Death- / He kindly stopped for me-" She describes her slow ride towards what she deems to be eternity "I first surmised the Horses Heads / Were toward Eternity-" But, as the poem goes on, she realizes the truth and inevitability of death. Her thoughts grow deep and in the third stanza, she realizes that her life is flashing past her eyes. She sees children playing at school, "fields of Gazing Grain" and the "Setting Sun" that indicate the three stages of life: childhood, adulthood, and old age where one nears death. This poem also brings out one of Dickinson's typical thoughts on time and death. "Time has stopped for her, and the fields of grain do the gazing, not her" (Semansky: GaleNet LRC). The idea that the poet wishes to put across to the reader is that she is in a world where time has no reference. She is past the land of the living where the sun and the fields of grain are mere participants in the process of supporting life. She uses these elements of nature to describe the stillness of time and the affect death has on the surroundings.

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1649
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)