Analysis of The Black Berry—wears a Thorn in his side

Emily Dickinson 1830 (Amherst) – 1886 (Amherst)



The Black Berry—wears a Thorn in his side—
But no Man heard Him cry—
He offers His Berry, just the same
To Partridge—and to Boy—

He sometimes holds upon the Fence—
Or struggles to a Tree—
Or clasps a Rock, with both His Hands—
But not for Sympathy—

We—tell a Hurt—to cool it—
This Mourner—to the Sky
A little further reaches—instead—
Brave Black Berry—


Scheme XAXX XBXB XAXB
Poetic Form Quatrain  (33%)
Metre 0110101011 111111 110110101 110011 10110101 110101 11011111 111100 1101111 110101 010101001 1110
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 381
Words 66
Sentences 1
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 12
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 90
Words per stanza (avg) 21
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 27, 2023

19 sec read
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Emily Dickinson

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. more…

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