Analysis of If anybody's friend be dead
Emily Dickinson 1830 (Amherst) – 1886 (Amherst)
If anybody's friend be dead
It's sharpest of the theme
The thinking how they walked alive—
At such and such a time—
Their costume, of a Sunday,
Some manner of the Hair—
A prank nobody knew but them
Lost, in the Sepulchre—
How warm, they were, on such a day,
You almost feel the date—
So short way off it seems—
And now—they're Centuries from that—
How pleased they were, at what you said—
You try to touch the smile
And dip your fingers in the frost—
When was it—Can you tell—
You asked the Company to tea—
Acquaintance—just a few—
And chatted close with this Grand Thing
That don't remember you—
Past Bows, and Invitations—
Past Interview, and Vow—
Past what Ourself can estimate—
That—makes the Quick of Woe!
Scheme | AXXX BCXC BXXX AXXX XDXD XXXX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (33%) |
Metre | 11000111 110101 01011101 110101 101101 110101 011111 1001 11101101 11101 111111 01110011 11101111 111101 01110001 111111 11010011 010101 01011111 110101 110010 11001 110011100 110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 735 |
Words | 132 |
Sentences | 2 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
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 May 03, 2023
- 40 sec read
- 88 Views
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"If anybody's friend be dead" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/11836/if-anybody%27s-friend-be-dead>.
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