Analysis of In Ebon Box, when years have flown
Emily Dickinson 1830 (Amherst) – 1886 (Amherst)
In Ebon Box, when years have flown
To reverently peer,
Wiping away the velvet dust
Summers have sprinkled there!
To hold a letter to the light—
Grown Tawny now, with time—
To con the faded syllables
That quickened us like Wine!
Perhaps a Flower's shrivelled check
Among its stores to find—
Plucked far away, some morning—
By gallant—mouldering hand!
A curl, perhaps, from foreheads
Our Constancy forgot—
Perhaps, an Antique trinket—
In vanished fashions set!
And then to lay them quiet back—
And go about its care—
As if the little Ebon Box
Were none of our affair!
| Scheme | XXXA XXXX XXXX XXXX XAXA |
|---|---|
| Poetic Form | Etheree (30%) Quatrain (20%) |
| Metre | 0111111 110001 10010101 101101 11010101 110111 11010100 110111 010111 011111 1101110 11011 010111 1010001 0110110 010101 01111101 010111 1101011 0111001 |
| Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
| Characters | 572 |
| Words | 100 |
| Sentences | 6 |
| Stanzas | 5 |
| Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
| Lines Amount | 20 |
| Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
| Words per line (avg) | 5 |
| Letters per stanza (avg) | 89 |
| Words per stanza (avg) | 20 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 30 sec read
- 163 Views
51 fans
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"In Ebon Box, when years have flown" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 4 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/11868/in-ebon-box%2C-when-years-have-flown>.
Powered by CITE.ME
Discuss this Emily Dickinson poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In