Analysis of First Robin

Emily Dickinson 1830 (Amherst) – 1886 (Amherst)



I dreaded that first robin so,
But he is mastered now,
And I'm accustomed to him grown,--
He hurts a little, though.

I thought if I could only live
Till that first shout got by,
Not all pianos in the woods
Had power to mangle me.

I dared not meet the daffodils,
For fear their yellow gown
Would pierce me with a fashion
So foreign to my own.

I wished the grass would hurry,
So when 't was time to see,
He'd be too tall, the tallest one
Could stretch to look at me.

I could not bear the bees should come,
I wished they'd stay away
In those dim countries where they go:
What word had they for me?

They're here, though; not a creature failed,
No blossom stayed away
In gentle deference to me,
The Queen of Calvary.

Each one salutes me as he goes,
And I my childish plumes
Lift, in bereaved acknowledgment
Of their unthinking drums.


Scheme AXBA XXXC XXDB CCDC XEAC XECC XXXX
Poetic Form
Metre 11011101 111101 01010111 110101 11111101 111111 11010001 1101101 1111010 111101 1111010 110111 1101110 1111111 11110101 111111 11110111 111101 01110111 111111 11110101 110101 01010011 011100 11011111 011101 10010100 110101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 809
Words 163
Sentences 8
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 28
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 91
Words per stanza (avg) 23
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

50 sec read
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Emily Dickinson

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. more…

All Emily Dickinson poems | Emily Dickinson Books

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