The Chariot
The Chariot
Original Text
Poems (1890-1896) by Emily Dickinson: A Facsimile Reproduction of the Original Volumes Issued in 1890, 1891, and 1896, with an Introduction by George Monteiro (Gainesville, Florida: Scholars' Facsimiles).
1Because I could not stop for Death,
2He kindly stopped for me;
3The carriage held but just ourselves
4And Immortality.
5We slowly drove, he knew no haste,
6And I had put away
7My labor, and my leisure too,
8For his civility.
11We passed the fields of gazing grain,
13We paused before a house that seemed
14A swelling of the ground;
15The roof was scarcely visible.
18Feels shorter than the day
19I first surmised the horses' heads
20Were toward eternity.
Notes
9] played: the existing manuscript version of poem 712 reads "strove" (The Manuscript Books of Emily Dickinson, edited by R. W. Franklin in two volumes (Cambridge, Mass., and London: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1981: I, 509-10; fascicle 23; PS 1541 A1 1981 ROBA). Back to Line
10] Their lessons scarcely done: the existing manuscript version reads "At recess in the ring". Back to Line
12] The existing manuscript version adds one stanza after this line:
Or rather He passed us.A tippet is a cape or scarf worn on the shoulders, and tulle is sheer silk material. Back to Line
The dews drew quivering and chill
For only gossamer, my gown,
My tippet, only tulle.
16] cornice: projecting mould that overhangs a roof or wall
but a mound: the existing manuscript version reads "in the ground". Back to Line
but a mound: the existing manuscript version reads "in the ground". Back to Line
17] but each: the existing manuscript version reads "and yet". Back to Line
Publication Start Year
1890
RPO poem Editors
Ian Lancashire
RPO Edition
RPO 1997.
Rhyme