Introduction
A common theme shared by Emily Dickinson’s “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” and Billy Collins’s “Forgetfulness” is the inexorable passage of time and its effects on human life. In both poems, the poets use figurative language to explore how time, represented by death and forgetfulness, respectively, impacts our existence by taking away life or memories.
Poem Analysis
Because I Could Not Stop for Death
In Dickinson’s poem, Death is personified as a courteous gentleman who takes the narrator on a carriage ride, representing her journey from life to the afterlife. The poem’s structure and rhythm mimic the inevitable march of time, and its figurative language, such as “He kindly stopped for me,” gives a sense of calmness and acceptance of the mortality we all face. The stages of the narrator’s life are symbolically passed during the carriage ride, with the school, the fields of gazing grain, and the setting sun representing childhood, maturity, and the end of life. This personification of Death and the journey’s symbolism underscore the theme of life’s natural progression towards its end.
Forgetfulness
In Collins’s “Forgetfulness,” memory loss is depicted as an inevitable consequence of aging. The poem uses extended metaphors and imagery, such as “the moon in the window” and “a little fishing village where there are no phones,” to describe the abstract concept of forgetting. The poem’s gentle humor and figurative language soften the melancholy of the subject, presenting forgetfulness not as a catastrophic event but as a gradual, almost natural part of the human experience. The fading of memories parallels the fading of life in Dickinson’s poem, emphasizing the shared theme of time’s unyielding forward movement.
Conclusion
Both poems use figurative language to explore the shared theme of time’s passage—impersonal, uncontrollable, and universal. Dickinson’s personification of Death and depiction of life’s stages contrast with Collins’s metaphorical description of memory loss, but both convey an acceptance of this fundamental aspect of the human condition. Through their respective lenses, the poets invite readers to reflect on the transient nature of life and memory, linking the inexorable march of time with the experiences that shape our existence.