If the foolish call them 'flowers,'
If the foolish call them 'flowers,'Need the wiser tell?If the savans 'classify' them,It is just as well!
Those who read the RevelationsMust not criticiseThose who read the same editionWith beclouded eyes!
Could we stand with that old MosesCanaan denied, --Scan, like him, the stately landscapeOn the other side, --
Doubtless we should deem superfluousMany sciencesNot pursued by learnèd angelsIn scholastic skies!
Low amid that glad Belles lettresGrant that we may stand,Stars, amid profound Galaxies,At that grand 'Right hand'!
Words in this poem
- scan v. t.
- To mount by steps; to go through with step by step. [L. scandere, scansum, to climb, to scan, akin to Skr. skand to spring, leap: cf. F. scander. Cf. Ascend, Descend, Scale a ladder.]
- doubtless a.
- Free from fear or suspicion.
- deem v. t.
- To decide; to judge; to sentence; to condemn. [OE. demen to judge, condemn, AS. d, fr. d doom; akin to OFries. d, OS. ad, D. doemen, OHG. tuommen, Icel. dæma, Sw. dömma, Dan. dömme, Goth. d. See Doom, n., an]
- 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]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
If the foolish call them 'flowers,' 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 the foolish call them 'flowers,', in Poems (1890–1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12242, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dickinson-poems/if-the-foolish-call-them-flowers.html, id L19009.
Form and metre
If the foolish call them 'flowers,' is 20 lines in 5 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is trochaic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
See other poems in trochaic 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-A flowers · tellA · them · wellA
- 2 -A-A revelations · criticiseA · edition · eyesA
- 3 -A-A moses · deniedA · landscape · sideA
- 4 -A-A superfluous · sciencesA · angels · skiesA
- 5 -A-A lettres · standA · galaxies · handA
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 trochaic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| If the foolish call them 'flowers,' | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Need the wiser tell? | 5 | ··/˘· |
| If the savans 'classify' them, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| It is just as well! | 5 | ····· |
| Those who read the Revelations | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Must not criticise | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Those who read the same edition | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| With beclouded eyes! | 5 | ····· |
| Could we stand with that old Moses | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Canaan denied, -- | 4 | /˘˘/ |
| Scan, like him, the stately landscape | 8 | ····/˘/· |
| On the other side, -- | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Doubtless we should deem superfluous | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Many sciences | 5 | /˘/˘˘ |
| Not pursued by learnèd angels | 7 | ·˘/··/˘ |
| In scholastic skies! | 5 | ·˘/˘· |
| Low amid that glad Belles lettres | 8 | ·˘/···/˘ |
| Grant that we may stand, | 5 | ····· |
| Stars, amid profound Galaxies, | 8 | ·˘/˘//˘˘ |
| At that grand 'Right hand'! | 5 | ····· |
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.