Proof
That I did always love,I bring thee proof:That till I lovedI did not love enough.
That I shall love alway,I offer theeThat love is life,And life hath immortality.
This, dost thou doubt, sweet?Then have INothing to showBut Calvary.
Words in this poem
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- 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.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Proof 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, Proof, in Poems (1890–1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12242, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dickinson-poems/proof.html, id L03589.
Form and metre
Proof is 12 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is iambic dimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 4.8 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 33% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic dimeter.
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.
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 dimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| That I did always love, | 6 | ···/·· |
| I bring thee proof: | 4 | ···· |
| That till I loved | 4 | ···· |
| I did not love enough. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| That I shall love alway, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| I offer thee | 4 | ·/˘· |
| That love is life, | 4 | ···· |
| And life hath immortality. | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| This, dost thou doubt, sweet? | 5 | ····· |
| Then have I | 3 | ··· |
| Nothing to show | 4 | /˘·· |
| But Calvary. | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
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.