Renunciation
There came a day at summer's fullEntirely for me;I thought that such were for the saints,Where revelations be.
The sun, as common, went abroad,The flowers, accustomed, blew,As if no soul the solstice passedThat maketh all things new.
The time was scarce profaned by speech;The symbol of a wordWas needless, as at sacramentThe wardrobe of our Lord.
Each was to each the sealed church,Permitted to commune this time,Lest we too awkward showAt supper of the Lamb.
The hours slid fast, as hours will,Clutched tight by greedy hands;So faces on two decks look back,Bound to opposing lands.
And so, when all the time had failed,Without external sound,Each bound the other's crucifix,We gave no other bond.
Sufficient troth that we shall rise --Deposed, at length, the grave --To that new marriage, justifiedThrough Calvaries of Love!
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- solstice n.
- A stopping or standing still of the sun. Sir T. Browne. [L. solstitium; sol the sun + sistere to cause to stand, akin to stare to stand: cf. F. solstice. See Solar, a., Stand, v. i.]
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- needless a.
- Having no need.
- sacrament n.
- The oath of allegiance taken by Roman soldiers; hence, a sacred ceremony used to impress an obligation; a solemn oath-taking; an oath. [L. sacramentum an oath, a sacred thing, a mystery, a sacrament, fr. sacrare to declare as sacred, sacer sacred: cf. F. sacrament. See Sacred.]
- wardrobe n.
- A room or apartment where clothes are kept, or wearing apparel is stored; a portable closet for hanging up clothes. [OE. warderobe, OF. warderobe, F. garderobe; of German origin. See Ward, v. t., and Robe.]
- commune n.
- The commonalty; the common people. [F., fr. commun. See Common.]
- crucifix n.
- A representation in art of the figure of Christ upon the cross; esp., the sculptured figure affixed to a real cross of wood, ivory, metal, or the like, used by the Roman Catholics in their devotions. [F. crucifix or LL. crucifixum, fr. L. crux, crucis, cross + figere, fixum, to fix. See Cross, and Fix, and cf. Crucify.]
- troth n.
- Belief; faith; fidelity. [A variant of truth. See Truth.]
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Renunciation 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, Renunciation, in Poems (1890–1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12242, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dickinson-poems/renunciation.html, id L03593.
Form and metre
Renunciation 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%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.9 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 21% 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 full · meA · saints · beA
- 2 -A-A abroad · blewA · passed · newA
- 5 -A-A will · handsA · back · landsA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| There came a day at summer's full | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Entirely for me; | 6 | ˘/˘˘·· |
| I thought that such were for the saints, | 8 | ········ |
| Where revelations be. | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| The sun, as common, went abroad, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| The flowers, accustomed, blew, | 7 | ·/˘˘/˘· |
| As if no soul the solstice passed | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That maketh all things new. | 6 | ······ |
| The time was scarce profaned by speech; | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| The symbol of a word | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Was needless, as at sacrament | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| The wardrobe of our Lord. | 7 | ·/··/˘· |
| Each was to each the sealed church, | 7 | ······· |
| Permitted to commune this time, | 8 | ˘/˘·/˘·· |
| Lest we too awkward show | 6 | ···/˘· |
| At supper of the Lamb. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The hours slid fast, as hours will, | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| Clutched tight by greedy hands; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| So faces on two decks look back, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Bound to opposing lands. | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| And so, when all the time had failed, | 8 | ········ |
| Without external sound, | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| Each bound the other's crucifix, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| We gave no other bond. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Sufficient troth that we shall rise -- | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| Deposed, at length, the grave -- | 6 | ˘/···· |
| To that new marriage, justified | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Through Calvaries of Love! | 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.