Dickinson noticed this, and through this poem tries to enlighten the rest of humanity.
Dickinson often uses metaphors to help achieve her purpose in this poem and increase the effectiveness of her point. She says, "If He puts away, Chrysalis of Blonde- or Umber-Equal Butterfly" when describing Death's equality. By using "chrysalis" to represent earthly labels and classifications, Dickinson points out how temporary and superficial those things are. "Blonde" and "umber" are both unusual words for different shades of yellowish brown, and here the poet uses them to represent skin colors. Dickinson compares "chrysalis", "blonde", and "umber" to show that even something that is perceived as indelible, such as race, can easily be removed by the universal and leveling power of Death. The poet also says that beneath the fabricated "chrysalis" of color, the "equal butterfly" of the humans being's spirit is what remains after death. This metaphor relates to the next stanza, where Dickinson describes the spirit as it "emerge[s] from His Obscuring". Through this, the reader sees that Death can only claim its own when the worldly covering is removed from the human spirit. This quote also implies that since God created Man, God, as a way of dividing Man, also created Man's physical and emotional differences. Further, it can be inferred that in order for Man to become truly divine, he must overcome those differences and see the world without them. This is an especially effective metaphor because it is easy for the reader to imagine the beautiful, pure butterfly of the human spirit emerging from its dark, sheltered cocoon, after struggling so long to become free.
Dickinson uses another metaphor to compare Death to sleep. Just as in sleep, she says, in death "All Hue [is] forgotten-, Tenets- put behind". While no one alive can accurately picture Death, the reader can easily imagine putting aside mortal prejudices while sleeping.
