Analysis of Whose are the little beds, I asked

Emily Dickinson 1830 (Amherst) – 1886 (Amherst)



Whose are the little beds, I asked
Which in the valleys lie?
Some shook their heads, and others smiled—
And no one made reply.

Perhaps they did not hear, I said,
I will inquire again—
Whose are the beds—the tiny beds
So thick upon the plain?

'Tis Daisy, in the shortest—
A little further on—
Nearest the door—to wake the Ist—
Little Leontoden.

'Tis Iris, Sir, and Aster—
Anemone, and Bell—
Bartsia, in the blanket red—
And chubby Daffodil.

Meanwhile, at many cradles
Her busy foot she plied—
Humming the quaintest lullaby
That ever rocked a child.

Hush! Epigea wakens!
The Crocus stirs her lids—
Rhodora's cheek is crimson,
She's dreaming of the woods!

Then turning from them reverent—
Their bedtime 'tis, she said—
The Bumble bees will wake them
When April woods are red.


Scheme ABCB DEFX XXAE XXDX XXBC FXXX XDXD
Poetic Form Quatrain  (43%)
Metre 11010111 100101 11110101 011101 01111111 110101 11010101 110101 1100010 010101 10011101 101 1101010 1001 100101 01010 111010 010111 100110 110101 111 010101 11110 110101 11011100 11111 0101111 110111
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 781
Words 137
Sentences 11
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 28
Letters per line (avg) 21
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 85
Words per stanza (avg) 19
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 16, 2023

41 sec read
98

Emily Dickinson

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. more…

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