Because I Could Not Stop for Death

“Grief” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1844)

British poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, who lived from 1806 to 1861, was one of Emily Dickinson’s favorite writers. Browning’s sonnet, “Grief,” resembles the subject matter of Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for Death,” although Browning’s maintains a more solemn, formal tone.

“I felt a Funeral, in my Brain” by Emily Dickinson (1861)

Like “Because I could not stop for Death,” Emily Dickinson’s “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain” deals with death. Both works also show off Dickinson’s gift for compressing meaning into brief, powerful lines and her frequent use of dashes. However, “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain” uses a funeral as an extended metaphor for a radical transformation in the speaker’s mind.

“O Me! O Life!” by Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman, who lived from 1819 to 1892, was Emily Dickinson’s contemporary and the other great American poet of the 19th century. Although the two poets shared certain literary influences and lived through the Civil War, their styles and interests often differ widely. In this poem, Whitman uses his typically long, unrhymed lines and impassioned tone to consider the difficulties and joys of existence.