Analysis of Before I got my eye put out

Emily Dickinson 1830 (Amherst) – 1886 (Amherst)



Before I got my eye put out
I liked as well to see—
As other Creatures, that have Eyes
And know no other way—

But were it told to me—Today—
That I might have the sky
For mine—I tell you that my Heart
Would split, for size of me—

The Meadows—mine—
The Mountains—mine—
All Forests—Stintless Stars—
As much of Noon as I could take
Between my finite eyes—

The Motions of the Dipping Birds—
The Morning's Amber Road—
For mine—to look at when I liked—
The News would strike me dead—

So safer—guess—with just my soul
Upon the Window pane—
Where other Creatures put their eyes—
Incautious—of the Sun—


Scheme XABC CXXA DDXXB XXXX XXBX
Poetic Form
Metre 01111111 111111 11010111 011101 10111101 111101 11111111 111111 011 0101 11011 11111111 01111 01010101 010101 11111111 011111 11011111 010101 11010111 1101
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 628
Words 111
Sentences 1
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 5, 4, 4
Lines Amount 21
Letters per line (avg) 22
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 91
Words per stanza (avg) 22
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 06, 2023

33 sec read
188

Emily Dickinson

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. more…

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