Analysis of I cried at Pity—not at Pain

Emily Dickinson 1830 (Amherst) – 1886 (Amherst)



I cried at Pity—not at Pain—
I heard a Woman say
"Poor Child"—and something in her voice
Convicted me—of me—

So long I fainted, to myself
It seemed the common way,
And Health, and Laughter, Curious things—
To look at, like a Toy—

To sometimes hear "Rich people" buy
And see the Parcel rolled—
And carried, I supposed—to Heaven,
For children, made of Gold—

But not to touch, or wish for,
Or think of, with a sigh—
And so and so—had been to me,
Had God willed differently.

I wish I knew that Woman's name—
So when she comes this way,
To hold my life, and hold my ears
For fear I hear her say

She's "sorry I am dead"—again—
Just when the Grave and I—
Have sobbed ourselves almost to sleep,
Our only Lullaby—


Scheme XAXB XAXX CDXD XCBB XAXA XCXC
Poetic Form Quatrain  (50%)
Metre 11110111 110101 11010001 010111 1111011 110101 010101001 111101 10111101 010101 010101110 110111 1111111 111101 01011111 111100 11111101 111111 11110111 111101 11011101 110101 11001111 101010
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 723
Words 137
Sentences 2
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 22
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 88
Words per stanza (avg) 23
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 03, 2023

42 sec read
108

Emily Dickinson

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. more…

All Emily Dickinson poems | Emily Dickinson Books

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