theme of death in the poem 'Because I could not stop for Death-'.

Discuss ways in which Dickinson presents the theme of death in the poem 'Because I could not stop for Death-'.
In your answer, explore the effects of language, imagery and verse form, and consider how this poem relates to other poems by Dickinson that you have studied.
Death is one of the main concepts in "Because I could not sop for Death-" and Dickinson uses techniques such as language, context, imagery and verse form to represent the way she explores death.
In 'Because I could not stop for Death-' Dickinson uses an extended metaphor to show that death is represented by a civil, kind gentleman caller. The poem starts with a comforting image of death being civil but we are later told about the absence of immortality and the brutal confrontation of death, through the line "Scarcely visible". Dickinson presents death as uncontrollable but it has an urgency so will come and get you whenever it is ready as nobody can "stop for Death-".
In the first two lines we are instantly introduced to death being personified as a man who "kindly stopped" giving us the idea that this gentleman caller has come to collect the speaker before they go on their day out. Dickinson uses this idea of the two lovers going out to show that death can be kind but also heartbreaking if the relationship was to end badly. The first stanza sets the scene as two lovers ride in the "Carriage" with "Immortality.". We get a sense that the speaker is reluctant to having immortality there from the use of the full stop however immortality is used to portray the chaperone who would accompany the two lovers on their day out.
The second and third stanza imply that the death Dickinson is exploring is a slow and peaceful death, we get this from the phrase "He knew no haste" but also the verse form throughout the poem. The poem is set into 6 stanza, each with the first and third line in made up of eight syllables, giving a sense of regular metrical pattern. The poem has a slow pace which adds to the idea of the slow death, as she describes the journey in detail show the passing of life. In the second stanza the speaker has "put away" "labor " and "leisure" to show that the speaker is dying as everything has come to a stop showing the slow death as she was somewhat prepared to stop the work and play.
In the third stanza we are told about the journey which these two lovers go on, and what they see from the carriage. The language used in this stanza shows us the passing of life, and how they seem to ride past different stages. Each scene that they pass represents a new stage in life, the "Children" represent childhood, the "Gazing Grain-" represent adulthood and finally the "Setting Sun-" represent old age. The use of reminiscing over life stages highlights the idea of death and end of life as it’s a way to think back over the speakers life and all that they've been through. The first line in the forth stanza ("We passed the Setting Sun- Or rather- He passed Us-") is interesting as it shows the sun passing the carriage, implying that the sun is orbiting death rather then the usual earth orbiting the sun. Dickinson uses this idea to imply that death is powerful and the world revolves around death, because we are always in fear of it. We see this similar idea again in poem 721; "Behind Me-dips Eternity-" where she explores the idea of death being all around us, "Behind" and "Before" and being omnipresent.
Dickinson uses certain language such as calling death civil, to represent the power that death has as the speaker almost thanks the gentleman caller "For His Civility". However we can clearly see that death has power and the speaker is acknowledging his authority. From this we can infer that Dickinson presents death as powerful is because she is somewhat scared if it and what it could do. Another idea to why Dickinson portrays death as a powerful concept is because she wants to explore more through her poetry and is intrigued by the doubt it causes. We see this again in poem 721; "Behind Me - dips Eternity-" where Dickinson explores the theme of death through questioning what comes after. In poem 721 she expresses her uncertainty and doubt on being "between" "Eternity" and "Immortality". We know that death is a major theme that Dickinson explores through her poetry giving us the idea that she is constantly thinking about it and still wishes to explore it.
Dickinson's ideas of death contradict the sentimental views which were common in her culture as death is seen as a positive, civil experience. We also see the contradiction between her views and the common views on death in poem 465; 'I heard a Fly buzz- when I died-' where Dickinson uses a common fly to interrupt the usually pleasant ordeal of seeing the light.
Through the poem Dickinson shows how death and the speaker have become one and we see this through the pronoun change between the first two stanzas. The first stanza was all about the speaker and we see this from the use of the pronoun; "I" and "me". However in the second stanza, we instantly see that death and the speaker have a connection as they suddenly become "we". This is intensified in the third stanza when the phrase "We passed" is constantly repeated. The use of the changing pronoun gives the idea that death and the speaker have finally become one and part of one another. Similarly, Dickinson uses the change in tense to intensify the change in perspective from the first five stanzas and the final stanza. This links to how Dickinson uses verse form to highlight the change. The last stanza is in present tense and is ambiguous as we do not know if the speaking is looking back from afterlife or recalling a moment. The final dash intensifies the ambiguity and can suggest a positive ending but can also suggest that there is no sense of union. Dickinson's use of dashes through her poetry is used to create the idea that she has something more to say, for example in poem 670; "One need not be a Chamber -to be Haunted-". The end line; "Or More-" uses the dash to leave the readers thinking something more will happen as it creates a sense of expectation because it leaves the poem at an ambiguous ending.
Another idea to this poem is that not only the gentleman caller represents death, but the carriage represents a hearse carrying a coffin. This is strongly highlighted in the forth stanza where we see that the speaker feels clothes are insignificant. The last line; "My Tippet-only Tulle-" shows that this narrow piece of clothing (tippet) is only netting, and the speakers "Gown-" is a fine material giving the idea she is in her best clothes. The fifth stanza also highlights the idea of the speaker being taken to her funeral as it shows her being taken to her grave, "in the ground". This reveals that the comfortable chariot is not what it seemed, but a hearse taking the body to the grave. Dickinson uses this poem to explore her ideas of death and funerals, and we see this similarly in poem 280; "I felt a Funeral, in my Brain," where she uses funeral imagery as a representation of her emotional state. Her exploration of the funeral service is detailed as she describes each stage of the service as she analyses her own funeral.
Wendy Martin (critic) states that Emily Dickinson uses "sentimental images to represent death" but she "she undercuts them with questions and uncertainties." We see this in poem 712 as the sentimental image used is a gentle lover coming to escort his lovely lady to her new home. We also get a sense of her uncertainty as she seems to portray death as a pleasant experience, unlike the typical views of death in her society. This could be Dickinson's way of exploring views on death, and trying to look at it in a new, positive way.