Analysis of He told a homely tale

Emily Dickinson 1830 (Amherst) – 1886 (Amherst)



He told a homely tale
And spotted it with tears—
Upon his infant face was set
The Cicatrice of years—

All crumpled was the cheek
No other kiss had known
Than flake of snow, divided with
The Redbreast of the Barn—

If Mother—in the Grave—
Or Father—on the Sea—
Or Father in the Firmament—
Or Brethren, had he—

If Commonwealth below,
Or Commonwealth above
Have missed a Barefoot Citizen—
I've ransomed it—alive—


Scheme XXAX XXXX XBAB XXXX
Poetic Form Quatrain  (25%)
Metre 110101 010111 01110111 0111 110101 110111 11110101 01101 110001 110101 110001 11011 11001 11001 1101100 11101
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 425
Words 74
Sentences 1
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 20
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 80
Words per stanza (avg) 18
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 02, 2023

22 sec read
414

Emily Dickinson

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. more…

All Emily Dickinson poems | Emily Dickinson Books

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