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Emily DickinsonA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Dickinson generally offered no titles, and it is standard to refer to the first line as a title or by a number assigned to them by editors who collated them after her death. “A Clock Stopped—” is #159 in Todd (1896); #287 in Johnson (1955), and #259A (1980) in Franklin.
Dickinson most often wrote in common meter, or a line of eight syllables followed by one of six syllables. In this syllable count, there is the unstressed syllable followed by one that is stressed. Dickinson did not employ several common constructions of punctuation, often using dashes instead of commas or periods, something that Todd conventionalized and Johnson restored. Dickinson also employed her own unique capitalization, not capitalizing proper nouns only but any word that she deemed important or wanted to stress.
Slant rhyme—as in “pain” (Line 7) and “noon” (Line 9)—popular with contemporary poets, was not used commonly in Dickinson’s day. Dickinson does employ rhyme in each of her stanzas in “A Clock stopped—.” Besides the slant rhyme in stanza two, exact rhymes appear with “skill” (Line 3) and “still” (Line 5); “snow” (Line 11) and “No” (Line 13); and “slim” (Line 15) and “him” (Line 18).
By Emily Dickinson
A Bird, came down the Walk
A Bird, came down the Walk
Emily Dickinson
A narrow Fellow in the Grass (1096)
A narrow Fellow in the Grass (1096)
Emily Dickinson
Because I Could Not Stop for Death
Because I Could Not Stop for Death
Emily Dickinson
"Faith" is a fine invention
"Faith" is a fine invention
Emily Dickinson
Fame Is a Fickle Food (1702)
Fame Is a Fickle Food (1702)
Emily Dickinson
Hope is a strange invention
Hope is a strange invention
Emily Dickinson
"Hope" Is the Thing with Feathers
"Hope" Is the Thing with Feathers
Emily Dickinson
I Can Wade Grief
I Can Wade Grief
Emily Dickinson
I Felt a Cleaving in my Mind
I Felt a Cleaving in my Mind
Emily Dickinson
I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain
I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain
Emily Dickinson
If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking
If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking
Emily Dickinson
If I should die
If I should die
Emily Dickinson
If you were coming in the fall
If you were coming in the fall
Emily Dickinson
I heard a Fly buzz — when I died
I heard a Fly buzz — when I died
Emily Dickinson
I'm Nobody! Who Are You?
I'm Nobody! Who Are You?
Emily Dickinson
Much Madness is divinest Sense—
Much Madness is divinest Sense—
Emily Dickinson
Success Is Counted Sweetest
Success Is Counted Sweetest
Emily Dickinson
Tell all the truth but tell it slant
Tell all the truth but tell it slant
Emily Dickinson
The Only News I Know
The Only News I Know
Emily Dickinson
There is no Frigate like a Book
There is no Frigate like a Book
Emily Dickinson