Desire
Who never wanted, -- maddest joyRemains to him unknown:The banquet of abstemiousnessSurpasses that of wine.
Within its hope, though yet ungraspedDesire's perfect goal,No nearer, lest realityShould disenthrall thy soul.
Words in this poem
- abstemiousness n.
- The quality of being abstemious, temperate, or sparing in the use of food and strong drinks. It expresses a greater degree of abstinence than temperance.
- disenthrall v. t.
- To release from thralldom or slavery; to give freedom to; to disinthrall. [See Enthrall.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Desire is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems by Emily Dickinson, Three Series, Complete, Project Gutenberg ebook #12242; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Emily Dickinson, Desire, in Poems (1890–1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12242, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dickinson-poems/desire.html, id L03763.
Form and metre
Desire is 8 lines in 2 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.9 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 50% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in common measure.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 2 -A-A ungrasped · goalA · reality · soulA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Who never wanted, -- maddest joy | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Remains to him unknown: | 6 | ˘/··˘/ |
| The banquet of abstemiousness | 9 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘˘ |
| Surpasses that of wine. | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| Within its hope, though yet ungrasped | 8 | ········ |
| Desire's perfect goal, | 6 | ˘/˘˘/· |
| No nearer, lest reality | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| Should disenthrall thy soul. | 6 | ······ |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.