Lost Joy
I had a daily blissI half indifferent viewed,Till sudden I perceived it stir, --It grew as I pursued,
Till when, around a crag,It wasted from my sight,Enlarged beyond my utmost scope,I learned its sweetness right.
Words in this poem
- crag n.
- The neck or throat [A form of craw: cf. D. kraag neck, collar, G. kragen. See Craw.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Lost Joy 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, Lost Joy, in Poems (1890–1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12242, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dickinson-poems/lost-joy.html, id L03758.
Form and metre
Lost Joy is 8 lines in 2 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is short measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 96%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.5 syllables. 12% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in short 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 bliss · viewedA · stir · pursuedA
- 2 -A-A crag · sightA · scope · rightA
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 short measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I had a daily bliss | 6 | ···/˘· |
| I half indifferent viewed, | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| Till sudden I perceived it stir, -- | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| It grew as I pursued, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Till when, around a crag, | 6 | ······ |
| It wasted from my sight, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Enlarged beyond my utmost scope, | 8 | ˘/···/·· |
| I learned its sweetness right. | 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.