Saved!
Of tribulation these are theyDenoted by the white;The spangled gowns, a lesser rankOf victors designate.
All these did conquer; but the onesWho overcame most timesWear nothing commoner than snow,No ornament but palms.
Surrender is a sort unknownOn this superior soil;Defeat, an outgrown anguish,Remembered as the mile
Our panting ankle barely gainedWhen night devoured the road;But we stood whispering in the house,And all we said was "Saved"!
Words in this poem
- tribulation n.
- That which occasions distress, trouble, or vexation; severe affliction. [OE. tribulacium, F. tribulation, L. tribulatio, from tribulare to press, afflict, fr. tribulum a thrashing sledge, akin to terere, tritum, to rub. See Trite.]
- defeat v. t.
- To undo; to disfigure; to destroy. [From F. défait, OF. desfait, p. p. ofe défaire, OF. desfaire, to undo; L. dis- + facere to do. See Feat, Fact, and cf. Disfashion.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Saved! 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, Saved!, in Poems (1890–1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12242, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dickinson-poems/saved.html, id L03729.
Form and metre
Saved! is 16 lines in 4 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 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. 44% 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Of tribulation these are they | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Denoted by the white; | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| The spangled gowns, a lesser rank | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Of victors designate. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| All these did conquer; but the ones | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Who overcame most times | 6 | ·/˘/·· |
| Wear nothing commoner than snow, | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| No ornament but palms. | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| Surrender is a sort unknown | 8 | ˘/˘···˘/ |
| On this superior soil; | 7 | ··˘/˘˘· |
| Defeat, an outgrown anguish, | 7 | ˘/··//˘ |
| Remembered as the mile | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| Our panting ankle barely gained | 9 | /˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| When night devoured the road; | 7 | ··˘/˘·· |
| But we stood whispering in the house, | 9 | ···/˘˘··· |
| And all we said was "Saved"! | 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.