Order Description
Select a theme from one of the poems in the unit. Begin by stating the theme you will be discussing.
What are some traditional notions people associate with that theme? Describe in one paragraph how you
think those traditional notions were created by society. Consider the following questions when crafting
your paragraph. Where did they come from? In another paragraph, find a modern representation of that
theme. You may select a poem or a song. How is the theme dealt with in this modern representation?
Because I could not stop for Death (479)
Emily Dickinson, 1830 – 1886
Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality.
We slowly drove – He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility –
We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess – in the Ring –
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –
We passed the Setting Sun –
Or rather – He passed us –
The Dews drew quivering and chill –
For only Gossamer, my Gown –
My Tippet – only Tulle –
We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground –
The Roof was scarcely visible –
The Cornice – in the Ground –
Since then – ‘tis Centuries – and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses’ Heads
Were toward Eternity –