They say that 'time assuages,' —
They say that 'time assuages,' --Time never did assuage;An actual suffering strengthens,As sinews do, with age.
Time is a test of trouble,But not a remedy.If such it prove, it prove tooThere was no malady.
Words in this poem
- malady n.
- Any disease of the human body; a distemper, disorder, or indisposition, proceeding from impaired, defective, or morbid organic functions; especially, a lingering or deep-seated disorder. [F. maladie, fr. malade ill, sick, OF. also, malabde, fr. L. male habitus, i. e., ill-kept, not in good condition. See Malice, and Habit.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
They say that 'time assuages,' — 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, They say that 'time assuages,' —, in Poems (1890–1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12242, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dickinson-poems/they-say-that-time-assuages.html, id L19042.
Form and metre
They say that 'time assuages,' — is 8 lines in 2 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%).
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 assuages · assuageA · strengthens · ageA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| They say that 'time assuages,' -- | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Time never did assuage; | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| An actual suffering strengthens, | 7 | ·/˘/˘/˘ |
| As sinews do, with age. | 6 | ······ |
| Time is a test of trouble, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| But not a remedy. | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| If such it prove, it prove too | 7 | ······· |
| There was no malady. | 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.