Analysis of Could I but ride indefinite

Emily Dickinson 1830 (Amherst) – 1886 (Amherst)



Could I but ride indefinite
As doth the Meadow Bee
And visit only where I liked
And No one visit me

And flirt all Day with Buttercups
And marry whom I may
And dwell a little everywhere
Or better, run away

With no Police to follow
Or chase Him if He do
Till He should jump Peninsulas
To get away from me—

I said "But just to be a Bee"
Upon a Raft of Air
And row in Nowhere all Day long
And anchor "off the Bar"

What Liberty! So Captives deem
Who tight in Dungeons are.


Scheme XAXA BCDC XXBA ADXE XE
Poetic Form
Metre 11110100 11011 01010111 011101 0111110 010111 0101010 110101 1101110 111111 11111 110111 11111101 010111 0101111 010101 11001101 110101
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 460
Words 99
Sentences 3
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 2
Lines Amount 18
Letters per line (avg) 20
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 73
Words per stanza (avg) 19
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 02, 2023

29 sec read
421

Emily Dickinson

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. more…

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