Death is commonly seen as a force that rules over us at all times, but the poems "Death, Be Not Proud," by John Donne, and the poem "Why I Couldn't Stop for Death ", by Emily Dickinson, paint a different light on the situation. Donne describes death as something he should fear us rather than us fearing him, because Donne believes that death is not as powerful as we all say it is. While the author Harold Bloom of "John Donne: Comprehensive Research and Study Guide", suggests that the poem was written to give people courage regarding presenting Death and his false ways. Dickinson, on the other hand, sees death as something to be embraced, like a friend or lover, and when it comes we should welcome it with open arms. However, in both "Dickinson's 'Because I Could Not Stop for Death,'" by Collamer M. Abbott, and "Because I, Persephone, Could Not Stop for Death: Emily Dickinson and the Goddess," by Ken Hiltner, both suggest points of alternative views. of what the poem might really be about and what Death truly represents to them. Both Donne and Dickinson display a highly personified depiction of death; giving each of their interpretations its own powerful personality using different types of figurative and imaginary language. However, while Dickinson accepts that death comes to everyone and must be embraced, Donne denies that the personification of death due to its presentation of power is false, but states that what comes next is something to be welcomed. Dickinson has a very different approach to death in her poetry; he represents death as a chivalrous man and accepts it as if it were his time. Her journey of acceptance has several parts, the first is death coming to her with immortality as a passenger in the first stanza (Immortal......middle of the card......n comes the time in where you can accept death for what it is, or fear it, even if it has power over you only for an instant, because the real power lies in people and in disease. Works Cited Abbott, Collamer M. “Dickinson's 'Why I Couldn't Stop for Death'." Explicator58.3 (2000): MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO, April 29. Bloom, Harold John Donne: Complete Study and Research Guide, and Kelly J. Mays, "Why I Couldn't Stop for Death /death, be not proud." The Norton Introduction to Literature, New York WW Norton & Company, 2010, p.1162-1163&1321.Hiltner, Ken. Why I, Persephone, Could Not Stop in the Face of Death: Emily Dickinson and the goddess." Emily Dickinson Journal 10.2 (2001): 22-42. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. Network. April 1. 2011.