Resurrection
'T was a long parting, but the timeFor interview had come;Before the judgment-seat of God,The last and second time
These fleshless lovers met,A heaven in a gaze,A heaven of heavens, the privilegeOf one another's eyes.
No lifetime set on them,Apparelled as the newUnborn, except they had beheld,Born everlasting now.
Was bridal e'er like this?A paradise, the host,And cherubim and seraphimThe most familiar guest.
Words in this poem
- fleshless a.
- Destitute of flesh; lean. Carlyle.
- lifetime n.
- The time that life continues.
- unborn a.
- Not born; no yet brought into life; being still to appear; future.
- cherubim n.
- The Hebrew plural of Cherub.. Cf. Seraphim.
- seraphim n.
- The Hebrew plural of Seraph. Cf. Cherubim.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Resurrection 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, Resurrection, in Poems (1890–1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12242, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dickinson-poems/resurrection.html, id L03595.
Form and metre
Resurrection is 16 lines in 4 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is short measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.7 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 31% 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 timeA · come · god · timeA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 'T was a long parting, but the time | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| For interview had come; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Before the judgment-seat of God, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The last and second time | 6 | ···/˘· |
| These fleshless lovers met, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| A heaven in a gaze, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| A heaven of heavens, the privilege | 8 | ·/·/˘·/˘ |
| Of one another's eyes. | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| No lifetime set on them, | 6 | ·/···· |
| Apparelled as the new | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| Unborn, except they had beheld, | 8 | //····˘/ |
| Born everlasting now. | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| Was bridal e'er like this? | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| A paradise, the host, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And cherubim and seraphim | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘˘ |
| The most familiar guest. | 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.