Analysis of If I may have it, when it's dead
Emily Dickinson 1830 (Amherst) – 1886 (Amherst)
If I may have it, when it's dead,
I'll be contented—so—
If just as soon as Breath is out
It shall belong to me—
Until they lock it in the Grave,
'Tis Bliss I cannot weigh—
For tho' they lock Thee in the Grave,
Myself—can own the key—
Think of it Lover! I and Thee
Permitted—face to face to be—
After a Life—a Death—We'll say—
For Death was That—
And this—is Thee—
I'll tell Thee All—how Bald it grew—
How Midnight felt, at first—to me—
How all the Clocks stopped in the World—
And Sunshine pinched me—'Twas so cold—
Then how the Grief got sleepy—some—
As if my Soul were deaf and dumb—
Just making signs—across—to Thee—
That this way—thou could'st notice me—
I'll tell you how I tried to keep
A smile, to show you, when this Deep
All Waded—We look back for Play,
At those Old Times—in Calvary,
Forgive me, if the Grave come slow—
For Coveting to look at Thee—
Forgive me, if to stroke thy frost
Outvisions Paradise!
Scheme | XAXB CDCB BBDXB XBXX EEBB FFDB ABXX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111111 110101 11111111 110111 01111001 111101 11111001 11101 11110101 01011111 10010111 1111 0111 11111111 1111111 11011001 0111111 11011101 11110101 11010111 111111101 11111111 01111111 11011111 11110100 01110111 111111 01111111 110 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 961 |
Words | 174 |
Sentences | 3 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 5, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 29 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 98 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 25 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 01, 2023
- 54 sec read
- 156 Views
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"If I may have it, when it's dead" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 3 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/11842/if-i-may-have-it%2C-when-it%27s-dead>.
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