Comprehension

A. Answer these questions in one or two words.

Q1. Which country does Emily Dickinson belong to?
Answer: Emily Dickinson was an American poet.

Q2. What is the ‘House’ referred to in the fourth stanza?
Answer: The “House” is the speaker’s grave.

Q3. What does the word ‘immortality’ mean?
Answer: Immortality means eternal life.

Q4. Where does the carriage stop?
Answer: The carriage pauses before a house that seems to be a swelling of the ground.

B. Answer these questions in a few words each.

Q1. Describe the scenes witnessed by the speaker as she passes by during her carriage ride with Death.
Answer: During the ride, the speaker passes a school with children, fields of gazing grain, and the setting sun.

Q2. Which words are used to describe Death in the poem?
Answer: Death is described as “kindly” and characterized by “civility”.

Q3. What is symbolic about the Carriage in the poem?
Answer: The Carriage is symbolic of the journey from life to death and finally to the afterlife.

Q4. Why does Dickinson describe death as being kind and civil in the poem?
Answer: Dickinson describes Death as kind and civil because it waited for the speaker, who was too busy with life to “stop for” it.

Q5. What is the role of ‘immortality’ in the poem?
Answer: Immortality is a passenger in the carriage, symbolizing the eternal life of the soul after death.

C. Answer these questions briefly in your own words.

Q1. What is the significance of the ‘Setting Sun’ in the poem?
Answer: The “Setting Sun” is significant as it symbolizes the end of the speaker’s life and the transition from her earthly existence into death and the chilling cold of the grave.

Q2. How does Dickinson indicate the impression of the grave?
Answer: Dickinson indicates the grave as a “House that seemed / A Swelling of the Ground” where “The Roof was scarcely visible,” suggesting a buried structure.

Q3. What is the main idea of the poem ‘Because I Could Not Stop for Death’?
Answer: The main idea is that death is an inevitable, continuous, and eternal journey, and it can be approached with a sense of calm and civility rather than fear. The poem re-examines the human relationship with mortality and the afterlife.

D. Answer these questions in detail.

Q1. Comment on the significance of the title of the poem ‘Because I Could Not Stop for Death’.
Answer: The title, “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” establishes the poem’s central premise: the speaker was too occupied with her “labor and my leisure” to notice that her life was ending. The title’s passive voice suggests that death is a kindly gentleman who accommodated her busyness by stopping for her. This sets a peaceful, non-threatening tone for the journey to the afterlife, which contrasts with the traditional fearful perception of death.

Q2. How is Death personified in the poem ‘Because I Could Not Stop for Death’?
Answer: Death is personified as a kind and civil gentleman driving a carriage. The speaker’s description of Death is non-threatening; he is not a fearsome, skeletal figure but a polite suitor who “kindly stopped for me”. He drives slowly and “knew no haste” as he carries the speaker and Immortality on their journey, treating her with “Civility” and respect.