This world is not conclusion
This world is not conclusion;A sequel stands beyond,Invisible, as music,But positive, as sound.It beckons and it baffles;Philosophies don't know,And through a riddle, at the last,Sagacity must go.To guess it puzzles scholars;To gain it, men have shownContempt of generations,And crucifixion known.
Words in this poem
- sequel n.
- That which follows; a succeeding part; continuation; as, the sequel of a man's advantures or history. [L. sequela, fr. sequit to follow: cf. F. séquelle a following. See Sue to follow.]
- crucifixion n.
- The act of nailing or fastening a person to a cross, for the purpose of putting him to death; the use of the cross as a method of capital punishment.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
This world is not conclusion 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, This world is not conclusion, in Poems (1890–1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12242, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dickinson-poems/this-world-is-not-conclusion.html, id L19040.
Form and metre
This world is not conclusion is 12 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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-B-B conclusion · beyond · music · sound · baffles · knowA · last · goA · scholars · shownB · generations · knownB
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| This world is not conclusion; | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| A sequel stands beyond, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Invisible, as music, | 7 | ˘/˘˘·/˘ |
| But positive, as sound. | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| It beckons and it baffles; | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Philosophies don't know, | 6 | ˘/˘˘·· |
| And through a riddle, at the last, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Sagacity must go. | 6 | ˘/˘˘·· |
| To guess it puzzles scholars; | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| To gain it, men have shown | 6 | ······ |
| Contempt of generations, | 7 | ˘/··˘/˘ |
| And crucifixion known. | 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.