The Chariot

‘The chariot’ by Emily Dickinson is one of the poems, which shows how pronouns are misinterpreted. She uses the word ‘he’ to show that someone can stand her. People might misinterpret the pronoun ‘he’ to mean death will stop for her since she cannot stop for it. Death cannot be replaced with a pronoun ‘he’ (Dickinson, 1892). He is used to show that someone else can die on her behalf. She is not ready to die thus someone can stop death by dying on her behalf. She says that since someone died on her behalf she was able to view many different things in the world. Death is something natural and occurs without timing. One does not choose the day to die. Death comes for someone and thus one cannot prevent death. Emily travelled far since she was not ready to die.

The pronoun he can is misunderstood here since people interpret as death. The pronoun for death is rather the word ‘it’. The chariot is an alternative to death. One can travel upwards using a chariot. The poet prefers the chariot rather than death. The chariot took her to many places where death would have let her be. She wished for someone else to pass through death (Dickinson, 1892). Pronouns used by poets can at times confuse people who tend to misinterpret them. One should read and interpret the pronouns and nouns correctly. The poet in her writings has used many nouns and pronouns, which are commonly misinterpreted by people (Dickinson, 1892). People should be careful while reading the poems in order to avoid misinterpreting and misunderstanding the intended meaning. Pronouns make the poem more interesting. Thus, in ‘the chariot’, the pronoun he has been used and should be interpreted correctly to stand for a person who saves the poet from death.

 

References

Dickinson, E. (1892). Poems. Boston: Roberts Brothers.