Death is inevitable, therefore requiring everyone's attention. In American literature, many attempts have been made to explain death by any understandable means. Most often, people rely on their religion to reveal the answers to questions related to death. This approach is demonstrated in the poem “Upon Wedlock, and Death of Children” by Edward Taylor. His religion dictates his attitude towards death and accompanies him in mourning. There are also those who look at death from a very different, less religious angle. In Emily Dickinson's poem "Because I Couldn't Stop to Die", she describes death as a courtship. She adopts her own image of death, disconnected from any religious vision. Whatever the source, whether religious or otherwise, we all have conceptions of death as we trudge toward the inevitable. These various conceptions, whether common or criticized, are revealed in the works of early American poets like these. For the New England settlers, death spread with merciless vengeance. Striking people of all ages, it has become a ubiquitous part of life. The Puritan view of death captivated all aspects of life. They believed that God was in control of all situations in life, with no immunity. Edward Taylor, a Puritan minister and poet, speaks of the death of his children, depicted as flowers, in the poem "On Marriage and the Death of Children." He writes “But oh! a glorious hand came from glory / Guarded by angels, soon plucked this flower” (19–20), displaying his puritanical view that God is ultimately in control, Taylor asserts that the occasion of his children's deaths is a glorious divine intervention. As disheartened as he is about the death of the company's middle of paper. These poems by Taylor and Dickinson convey only two interpretations of death. From common cultural perspective to intrapersonal imagery, death is perceived in countless forms. Works Cited Bengtsson, Gunnar. “Emily Dickinson”. American poems. February 2010. February 28, 2011. Dickinson, Emily. “Because I couldn’t stop and die.” Norton Anthology of American Literature. 7th shorter edition. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: Norton, 2008. p. 1214-1215. Print.Stanford, Donald E. "Edward Taylor". Poetry Foundation. 2010. February 28, 2011 Taylor, Edward. “At the time of marriage and the death of children”. Norton Anthology of American Literature. 7th shorter edition. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: Norton, 2008. p. 140-141. Print.