Gone
Went up a year this evening!I recollect it well!Amid no bells nor bravosThe bystanders will tell!Cheerful, as to the village,Tranquil, as to repose,Chastened, as to the chapel,This humble tourist rose.Did not talk of returning,Alluded to no timeWhen, were the gales propitious,We might look for him;Was grateful for the rosesIn life's diverse bouquet,Talked softly of new speciesTo pick another day.
Beguiling thus the wonder,The wondrous nearer drew;Hands bustled at the moorings --The crowd respectful grew.Ascended from our visionTo countenances new!A difference, a daisy,Is all the rest I knew!
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- recollect v. t.
- To recover or recall the knowledge of; to bring back to the mind or memory; to remember. [Pref. re- + collect: cf. L. recolligere, recollectum, to collect. Cf. Recollet.]
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- chastened a.
- Corrected; disciplined; refined; purified; toned down. Sir. W.
- tourist n.
- One who makes a tour, or performs a journey in a circuit.
- beguiling a.
- Alluring by guile; deluding; misleading; diverting.
- wondrous adv.
- In a wonderful or surprising manner or degree; wonderfully. [OE. wonders, adv. (later also adj.). See Wonder, n., and cf. -wards.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Gone 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, Gone, in Poems (1890–1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12242, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dickinson-poems/gone.html, id L03725.
Form and metre
Gone is 24 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 89% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.5 syllables. 12 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 21% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
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 -ABA-BAB-----C-C evening · wellA · bravosB · tellA · village · reposeB · chapelA · roseB · returning · time · propitious · him · roses · bouquetC · species · dayC
- 2 -A-A-A-A wonder · drewA · moorings · grewA · vision · newA · daisy · knewA
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 iambic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Went up a year this evening! | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| I recollect it well! | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Amid no bells nor bravos | 7 | ˘/···/˘ |
| The bystanders will tell! | 6 | ·/·˘·· |
| Cheerful, as to the village, | 7 | /˘···/˘ |
| Tranquil, as to repose, | 6 | /˘··˘/ |
| Chastened, as to the chapel, | 7 | /˘···/˘ |
| This humble tourist rose. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Did not talk of returning, | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Alluded to no time | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| When, were the gales propitious, | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| We might look for him; | 5 | ····· |
| Was grateful for the roses | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| In life's diverse bouquet, | 6 | ··˘/˘/ |
| Talked softly of new species | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| To pick another day. | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| Beguiling thus the wonder, | 7 | ˘/˘··/˘ |
| The wondrous nearer drew; | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Hands bustled at the moorings -- | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| The crowd respectful grew. | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| Ascended from our vision | 8 | ˘/˘·/˘/˘ |
| To countenances new! | 6 | ·/˘˘˘· |
| A difference, a daisy, | 7 | ·/˘˘·/˘ |
| Is all the rest I knew! | 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.