Analysis of My life had stood

Emily Dickinson 1830 (Amherst) – 1886 (Amherst)



My life had stood--a Loaded Gun--
In Corners--till a Day
The Owner passed--identified--
And carried Me away--

And now We roam in Sovereign Woods--
And now We hunt the Doe--
And every time I speak for Him--
The Mountains straight reply--

And do I smile, such cordial light
Upon the Valley glow--
It is as a Vesuvian face
Had let its pleasure through--

And when at Night--Our good Day done--
I guard My Master's Head--
'Tis better than the Eider-Duck's
Deep Pillow--to have shared--

To foe of His--I'm deadly foe--
None stir the second time--
On whom I lay a Yellow Eye--
Or an emphatic Thumb--

Though I than He--may longer live
He longer must--than I--
For I have but the power to kill,
Without--the power to die--


Scheme ABXB XCXD XCXX AXXX CXDX XDXD
Poetic Form Quatrain  (33%)
Metre 11110101 010101 0101010 010101 01110101 011101 010011111 010101 01111101 010101 111011 111101 011110111 111101 1101011 110111 11111101 110101 11110101 110101 11111101 110111 111101011 0101011
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 721
Words 130
Sentences 1
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 24
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 April 04, 2023

39 sec read
194

Emily Dickinson

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. more…

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