Comparing Death And It Was Not Death, For I Stood Up

Write a critical commentary comparing and contrasting the two poems ‘Death’ and ‘It was not Death, for I stood up’ Indeed. in their respective poems it is evident that the poets George Herbert and Emily Dickinson are writing in two different centuries. Both differ in terms of style, language and the different way in which they approach the concept of death. However, despite their differences, both ‘Death’ and ‘It was not Death, for I stood up’ signify the fundamental features of death in the poems which reiterates death as biological despite some poems viewing death as an abstract being . In ‘Death’, Herbert explores an abstract interpretation of death and compares it to the literal features of death. In the first line death is referred to as an â€Å"[U]ncouth hideous thing,† (line 1), the word â€Å"uncouth† personifies death as a being as death is being described as lacking good manners. Death as being mannerless highlights the conventional image of death as a being that takes lives rather than being a natural thing. This image of death as a physical being can be argued as a conventional medieval ideology about death. Yet this fictitious interpretation of death is juxtaposed with the literal image of death as â€Å"Nothing but bones† (line 2). The biological decay to bones as a result of death contradicts this idea of death as an evil coarse being taking lives. However despite that abstract death being contradicted by biological features of death, abstract interpretation of deathShow MoreRelated`` It Was Not Death, For I Stood Up, By Emily Dickinson1728 Words   |  7 PagesDickinson’s link of mental illness to reclusiveness within her works titled â€Å"It was not Death, for I stood up,† â€Å"After great pain, a Formal feeling comes,† â€Å"I dwell in Possibility,† â€Å"My Life had stood—a Loaded Gun,† and â€Å"Tell all the Truth but tell it slant†.† Emily Dickinson is one of the most influential female poets of the 19th century. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1830, Dickinson began her life as a normal child. Growing up, Dickinson had more opportunities than most women of the 19th century;Read MoreCulture and Grief1667 Words   |  7 PagesWhen the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2011 rocked New York City, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C., the word â€Å"tragedy† was used on a grandiose level around the world. 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