If I should die
If I should die,And you should live,And time should gurgle on,And morn should beam,And noon should burn,As it has usual done;If birds should build as early,And bees as bustling go, --One might depart at optionFrom enterprise below!'T is sweet to know that stocks will standWhen we with daisies lie,That commerce will continue,And trades as briskly fly.It makes the parting tranquilAnd keeps the soul serene,That gentlemen so sprightlyConduct the pleasing scene!
Words in this poem
- gurgle v. i.
- To run or flow in a broken, irregular, noisy current, as water from a bottle, or a small stream among pebbles or stones. [Cf. It. gorgogliare to gargle, bubble up, fr. L. gurgulio gullet. Cf. Gargle, Gorge.]
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- bustling a.
- Agitated; noisy; tumultuous; characterized by confused activity; as, a bustling crowd.
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
- option n.
- The power of choosing; the right of choice or election; an alternative. [L. optio; akin to optare to choose, wish, optimus best, and perh. to E. apt: cf. F. option.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
If I should die 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, If I should die, in Poems (1890–1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12242, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dickinson-poems/if-i-should-die.html, id L19000.
Form and metre
If I should die is 18 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%).
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 A---BB-CBC-A-A-D-D dieA · live · on · beam · burnB · doneB · early · goC · optionB · belowC · stand · lieA · continue · flyA · tranquil · sereneD · sprightly · sceneD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| If I should die, | 4 | ···· |
| And you should live, | 4 | ···· |
| And time should gurgle on, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And morn should beam, | 4 | ···· |
| And noon should burn, | 4 | ···· |
| As it has usual done; | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| If birds should build as early, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And bees as bustling go, -- | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| One might depart at option | 7 | ··˘/·/˘ |
| From enterprise below! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| 'T is sweet to know that stocks will stand | 9 | ········· |
| When we with daisies lie, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| That commerce will continue, | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| And trades as briskly fly. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| It makes the parting tranquil | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| And keeps the soul serene, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| That gentlemen so sprightly | 7 | ·/˘˘·/˘ |
| Conduct the pleasing scene! | 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.