; Therefore, the persona and death share a reminiscent journey together as they stroll down memory lane, concerning themselves not with time, but compassion as death allows the speaker to mirror the passage of life with things familiar to her. The journey enables her to see the stages of her life beginning with her childhood, then maturity, and, finally, old age. This is verified in the third quatrain by the third stanza, “We passed the School, where Children strove/At Recess-in the Ring-/We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain-/We passed the Setting Sun.”When the sun sets and darkness surrounds the Earth, a cold eerie chill almost always accompanies it. This makes the speaker wonder if, in fact, the sun had actually passed her. She begins to notice how inappropriately she is dressed for such an occasion. The speaker now begins to realize that the coldness and chill are not external, but internal. It becomes clear to the speaker that the coldness and the chill are associated with death in the fourth stanza, “Or rather-He passed Us-/The Dews drew quivering and chill-/For only Gossamer, my Gown-/My Tippet-only Tulle.”The speaker’s metaphysical journey comes to an end at the cemetery, but somehow, the cold, dark, and eerie chill of the night seems unimportant. In total contentment, she views her resting-place. Although her gravestone is barely visible, she somehow recognizes it as her underground home. This is acknowledged in the fifth stanza, “We passed before a House that seemed/A Swelling of the Ground-/The Roof was scarcely visible/The Cornice-in the Ground.”Upon death the concept of time becomes non-existent. Therefore, the speaker’s ability to relate how much time has passed since death and immortality carried her off becomes irrelevant. The speaker realizes there is no price to pay for death, and death is not to be feared, but rather embraced. This can be viewed in the sixth ...
