Going
On such a night, or such a night,Would anybody careIf such a little figureSlipped quiet from its chair,
So quiet, oh, how quiet!That nobody might knowBut that the little figureRocked softer, to and fro?
On such a dawn, or such a dawn,Would anybody sighThat such a little figureToo sound asleep did lie
For chanticleer to wake it, --Or stirring house below,Or giddy bird in orchard,Or early task to do?
There was a little figure plumpFor every little knoll,Busy needles, and spools of thread,And trudging feet from school.
Playmates, and holidays, and nuts,And visions vast and small.Strange that the feet so precious chargedShould reach so small a goal!
Words in this poem
- nobody n.
- No person; no one; not anybody. [No, a. + body.]
- chanticleer n.
- A cock, so called from the clearness or loundness of his voice in crowing. [F. Chanteclair, name of the cock in the Roman du Renart (Reynard the Fox); chanter to chant + clair clear. See Chant, and Clear.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Going 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, Going, in Poems (1890–1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12242, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dickinson-poems/going.html, id L03720.
Form and metre
Going is 24 lines in 6 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.8 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 38% 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.
- 1 -A-A night · careA · figure · chairA
- 2 -A-A quiet · knowA · figure · froA
- 3 -A-A dawn · sighA · figure · lieA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| On such a night, or such a night, | 8 | ········ |
| Would anybody care | 6 | ·/˘˘˘· |
| If such a little figure | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Slipped quiet from its chair, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| So quiet, oh, how quiet! | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| That nobody might know | 6 | ·/···· |
| But that the little figure | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Rocked softer, to and fro? | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| On such a dawn, or such a dawn, | 8 | ········ |
| Would anybody sigh | 6 | ·/˘˘˘· |
| That such a little figure | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Too sound asleep did lie | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| For chanticleer to wake it, -- | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| Or stirring house below, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Or giddy bird in orchard, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Or early task to do? | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| There was a little figure plump | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| For every little knoll, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Busy needles, and spools of thread, | 8 | /˘/˘···· |
| And trudging feet from school. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Playmates, and holidays, and nuts, | 8 | /··/˘··· |
| And visions vast and small. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Strange that the feet so precious charged | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Should reach so small a goal! | 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.