Analysis of A light exists in spring

Emily Dickinson 1830 (Amherst) – 1886 (Amherst)



A light exists in spring
   Not present on the year
At any other period.
   When March is scarcely here

A color stands abroad
   On solitary hills
That science cannot overtake,
   But human naturefeels.

It waits upon the lawn;
   It shows the furthest tree
Upon the furthest slope we know;
   It almost speaks to me.

Then, as horizons step,
   Or noons report away,
Without the formula of sound,
   It passes, and we stay:

A quality of loss
   Affecting our content,
As trade had suddenly encroached
   Upon a sacrament.


Scheme XXXX XAXA XBXB XCXC XXXX
Poetic Form Quatrain  (60%)
Etheree  (40%)
Tetractys  (20%)
Metre 010101 110101 11010100 111101 010101 11001 1101010 1101 110101 110101 01010111 11111 110101 110101 01010011 110011 010011 0101010 11110001 010100
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 509
Words 89
Sentences 5
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 20
Letters per line (avg) 20
Words per line (avg) 4
Letters per stanza (avg) 78
Words per stanza (avg) 17
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 02, 2023

26 sec read
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Emily Dickinson

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. more…

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