Because I could not stop for death
...usness of life's cycle. The cycle of one's life, as symbolized by the author, has three stages. The first stage, "School, where children strove at recess," represents childhood. The second stage, maturity, is expressed in "Fields of Grazing Grain." The third and final stage is old age or "Setting Sun". In addition to these three, the final stage, eternity, is symbolized in the last two lines of the poem: the "Horses Heads" and leading "towards eternity". Dickenson interpreted the mysterious progression of life by sorting out its complications with illustrative symbols. Emily Dickenson creates a scene that makes light, sound and feeling come to life. The imagery begins when Dickenson invites the reader into the "Carriage". Deathe "slowly" takes the reader on a sight seeing trip where they see the stages of life. The first site "We" passed was the "School where Children Strove". The first scene is most important because it deals with an important symbol--the "Ring". The "Children at Recess" do not play, as would be expected of children, but rather "strive". The vision of the children playing at recess in the "Ring" suggests the age-old ritual of the innocent "Ring-around-the-roses" which ends in "ashes, ashes, we all fall down". This is a reminder of the mortality that remains constant in the poem. On the journey in the Carriage, the reader sees the "Children" playing, laughing and singing. This vision brings forth emotions though verbal pictures. The imagery in the final scene, "We passed the Setting Sun" is quite emotional. A warm setting sun can be easily pictured. The vision of a setting sun suggests that there will be an aftermath of a cold, dark night. When Dickenson passed the "Setting Sun" night came soon after and it was time to go home and to sleep. Symbolically, her tour of life was short; i...