Analysis of The Way I read a Letter's—this

Emily Dickinson 1830 (Amherst) – 1886 (Amherst)



The Way I read a Letter's—this—
'Tis first—I lock the Door—
And push it with my fingers—next—
For transport it be sure—

And then I go the furthest off
To counteract a knock—
Then draw my little Letter forth
And slowly pick the lock—

Then—glancing narrow, at the Wall—
And narrow at the floor
For firm Conviction of a Mouse
Not exorcised before—

Peruse how infinite I am
To no one that You—know—
And sigh for lack of Heaven—but not
The Heaven God bestow—


Scheme XAXX XBXB XAXA XCXC
Poetic Form Quatrain  (75%)
Metre 0111011 111101 01111101 101111 01110101 11001 11110101 010101 11010101 010101 11010101 1101 01110011 111111 011111011 010101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 478
Words 86
Sentences 1
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 22
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 88
Words per stanza (avg) 21
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 02, 2023

26 sec read
452

Emily Dickinson

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. more…

All Emily Dickinson poems | Emily Dickinson Books

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