Analysis of How sick—to wait—in any place—but thine

Emily Dickinson 1830 (Amherst) – 1886 (Amherst)



How sick—to wait—in any place—but thine—
I knew last night—when someone tried to twine—
Thinking—perhaps—that I looked tired—or alone—
Or breaking—almost—with unspoken pain—

And I turned—ducal—
That right—was thine—
One port—suffices—for a Brig—like mine—

Ours be the tossing—wild though the sea—
Rather than a Mooring—unshared by thee.
Ours be the Cargo—unladed—here—
Rather than the "spicy isles—"
And thou—not there—


Scheme AAXX XAA BBXXX
Poetic Form
Metre 1111010111 111111111 100111110101 110110101 01110 1111 1101010111 1010101101 101010111 1010111 1010101 0111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 476
Words 61
Sentences 2
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 3, 5
Lines Amount 12
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 109
Words per stanza (avg) 20
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 03, 2023

18 sec read
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Emily Dickinson

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. more…

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