Too Much
I should have been too glad, I see,Too lifted for the scant degreeOf life's penurious round;My little circuit would have shamedThis new circumference, have blamedThe homelier time behind.
I should have been too saved, I see,Too rescued; fear too dim to meThat I could spell the prayerI knew so perfect yesterday, --That scalding one, "Sabachthani,"Recited fluent here.
Earth would have been too much, I see,And heaven not enough for me;I should have had the joyWithout the fear to justify, --The palm without the Calvary;So, Saviour, crucify.
Defeat whets victory, they say;The reefs in old GethsemaneEndear the shore beyond.'T is beggars banquets best define;'T is thirsting vitalizes wine, --Faith faints to understand.
Words in this poem
- calvary n.
- The place where Christ was crucified, on a small hill outside of Jerusalem. Luke xxiii. 33. [L. calvaria a bare skull, fr. calva the scalp without hair. fr. calvus bald; cf. F. calvaire.]
- saviour n.
- One who saves, preserves, or delivers from destruction or danger. [OE. saveour, OF. salveor, F. sauveur, fr. L. salvator to save. See Save, v.]
- crucify v. t.
- To fasten to a cross; to put to death by nailing the hands and feet to a cross or gibbet. [F. crucifier, fr. (assumed) LL. crucificare, for crucifigere, fr, L. crux, crucis, cross + figere to fix, the ending - figere being changed to -ficare, F. -fier]
- 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.]
- endear v. t.
- To make dear or beloved.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Too Much 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, Too Much, in Poems (1890–1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12242, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dickinson-poems/too-much.html, id L03649.
Form and metre
Too Much is 24 lines in 4 stanzas of 6 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.2 syllables. 1 line ends 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 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 AA-BB- seeA · degreeA · round · shamedB · blamedB · behind
- 2 AAB--B seeA · meA · prayerB · yesterday · sabachthani · hereB
- 3 AA-B-B seeA · meA · joy · justifyB · calvary · crucifyB
- 4 ---AA- say · gethsemane · beyond · defineA · wineA · understand
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I should have been too glad, I see, | 8 | ········ |
| Too lifted for the scant degree | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Of life's penurious round; | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| My little circuit would have shamed | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| This new circumference, have blamed | 7 | ··˘/˘·· |
| The homelier time behind. | 7 | ······· |
| I should have been too saved, I see, | 8 | ········ |
| Too rescued; fear too dim to me | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| That I could spell the prayer | 6 | ······ |
| I knew so perfect yesterday, -- | 8 | ···/·/˘· |
| That scalding one, "Sabachthani," | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Recited fluent here. | 6 | ˘/˘/˘· |
| Earth would have been too much, I see, | 8 | ········ |
| And heaven not enough for me; | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| I should have had the joy | 6 | ······ |
| Without the fear to justify, -- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The palm without the Calvary; | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| So, Saviour, crucify. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Defeat whets victory, they say; | 8 | ˘/·/˘˘·· |
| The reefs in old Gethsemane | 7 | ······· |
| Endear the shore beyond. | 6 | ˘/···· |
| 'T is beggars banquets best define; | 9 | ··/˘/˘·˘/ |
| 'T is thirsting vitalizes wine, -- | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| Faith faints to understand. | 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.