Surrender
Doubt me, my dim companion!Why, God would be contentWith but a fraction of the lovePoured thee without a stint.The whole of me, forever,What more the woman can, --Say quick, that I may dower theeWith last delight I own!
It cannot be my spirit,For that was thine before;I ceded all of dust I knew, --What opulence the moreHad I, a humble maiden,Whose farthest of degreeWas that she might,Some distant heaven,Dwell timidly with thee!
Words in this poem
- opulence n.
- Wealth; riches; affluence. Swift [L. opulentia: cf. F. opulence. See Opulent.]
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Surrender 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, Surrender, in Poems (1890–1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12242, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dickinson-poems/surrender.html, id L03587.
Form and metre
Surrender is 17 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic trimeter, 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 6.3 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 29% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
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---- companion · contentA · love · stintA · forever · can · thee · own
- 2 -A-A-B--B spirit · beforeA · knew · moreA · maiden · degreeB · might · heaven · theeB
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Doubt me, my dim companion! | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Why, God would be content | 6 | ····/˘ |
| With but a fraction of the love | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Poured thee without a stint. | 6 | ······ |
| The whole of me, forever, | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| What more the woman can, -- | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Say quick, that I may dower thee | 7 | ······· |
| With last delight I own! | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| It cannot be my spirit, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| For that was thine before; | 6 | ······ |
| I ceded all of dust I knew, -- | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| What opulence the more | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| Had I, a humble maiden, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Whose farthest of degree | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| Was that she might, | 4 | ···· |
| Some distant heaven, | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| Dwell timidly with thee! | 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.