Analysis of I see thee better—in the Dark

Emily Dickinson 1830 (Amherst) – 1886 (Amherst)



I see thee better—in the Dark—
I do not need a Light—
The Love of Thee—a Prism be—
Excelling Violet—

I see thee better for the Years
That hunch themselves between—
The Miner's Lamp—sufficient be—
To nullify the Mine—

And in the Grave—I see Thee best—
Its little Panels be
Aglow—All ruddy—with the Light
I held so high, for Thee—

What need of Day—
To Those whose Dark—hath so—surpassing Sun—
It deem it be—Continually—
At the Meridian?


Scheme XABX XXBX XBAB XCBC
Poetic Form Quatrain  (50%)
Metre 11110001 111101 01110101 010100 11110101 110101 01010101 11001 00011111 110101 01110101 111111 1111 1111110101 111101000 100100
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 469
Words 79
Sentences 2
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 21
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 84
Words per stanza (avg) 19
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 22, 2023

24 sec read
386

Emily Dickinson

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. more…

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