They won't frown always, — some sweet day
They won't frown always, -- some sweet dayWhen I forget to tease,They'll recollect how cold I looked,And how I just said 'please.'
Then they will hasten to the doorTo call the little child,Who cannot thank them, for the iceThat on her lisping piled.
Words in this poem
- recollect v. t.
- To recover or recall the knowledge of; to bring back to the mind or memory; to remember. [Pref. re- + collect: cf. L. recolligere, recollectum, to collect. Cf. Recollet.]
- thank n.
- A expression of gratitude; an acknowledgment expressive of a sense of favor or kindness received; obligation, claim, or desert, or gratitude; -- now generally used in the plural. [AS. Þanc, Þonc, thanks, favor, thought; akin to OS. thank favor, pleasure, thanks, D. & G. dank thanks, Icel. Þ\'94kk, Dan. tak, Sw. tack, Goth. Þagks thanks; -]
- piled a.
- Having a pile or point; pointed. [From 2d Pile.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
They won't frown always, — some sweet day 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 won't frown always, — some sweet day, in Poems (1890–1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12242, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dickinson-poems/they-won-t-frown-always-some-sweet-day.html, id L19047.
Form and metre
They won't frown always, — some sweet day is 8 lines in 2 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
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 day · teaseA · looked · pleaseA
- 2 -A-A door · childA · ice · piledA
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 won't frown always, -- some sweet day | 8 | ···/···· |
| When I forget to tease, | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| They'll recollect how cold I looked, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| And how I just said 'please.' | 6 | ······ |
| Then they will hasten to the door | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To call the little child, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Who cannot thank them, for the ice | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| That on her lisping piled. | 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.