In Shadow
I dreaded that first robin so,But he is mastered now,And I 'm accustomed to him grown, --He hurts a little, though.
I thought if I could only liveTill that first shout got by,Not all pianos in the woodsHad power to mangle me.
I dared not meet the daffodils,For fear their yellow gownWould pierce me with a fashionSo foreign to my own.
I wished the grass would hurry,So when 't was time to see,He 'd be too tall, the tallest oneCould stretch to look at me.
I could not bear the bees should come,I wished they 'd stay awayIn those dim countries where they go:What word had they for me?
They 're here, though; not a creature failed,No blossom stayed awayIn gentle deference to me,The Queen of Calvary.
Each one salutes me as he goes,And I my childish plumesLift, in bereaved acknowledgmentOf their unthinking drums.
Words in this poem
- stayed a.
- Staid; fixed; settled; sober; -- now written staid. See Staid.
- calvary n.
- The place where Christ was crucified, on a small hill outside of Jerusalem. Luke xxiii. 33. [L. calvaria a bare skull, fr. calva the scalp without hair. fr. calvus bald; cf. F. calvaire.]
- unthinking a.
- Not thinking; not heedful; thoughtless; inconsiderate; as, unthinking youth.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
In Shadow 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, In Shadow, in Poems (1890–1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12242, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dickinson-poems/in-shadow.html, id L03685.
Form and metre
In Shadow is 28 lines in 7 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.0 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 32% 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 soA · now · grown · thoughA
- 2 -A-A live · byA · woods · meA
- 3 -AAA daffodils · gownA · fashionA · ownA
- 4 -A-A hurry · seeA · one · meA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I dreaded that first robin so, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| But he is mastered now, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And I 'm accustomed to him grown, -- | 9 | ···˘/˘··· |
| He hurts a little, though. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| I thought if I could only live | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Till that first shout got by, | 6 | ······ |
| Not all pianos in the woods | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Had power to mangle me. | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| I dared not meet the daffodils, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| For fear their yellow gown | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Would pierce me with a fashion | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| So foreign to my own. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| I wished the grass would hurry, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| So when 't was time to see, | 7 | ······· |
| He 'd be too tall, the tallest one | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Could stretch to look at me. | 6 | ······ |
| I could not bear the bees should come, | 8 | ········ |
| I wished they 'd stay away | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| In those dim countries where they go: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| What word had they for me? | 6 | ······ |
| They 're here, though; not a creature failed, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| No blossom stayed away | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| In gentle deference to me, | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| The Queen of Calvary. | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Each one salutes me as he goes, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| And I my childish plumes | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Lift, in bereaved acknowledgment | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘˘ |
| Of their unthinking drums. | 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.