The poem features five quatrains or five stanzas with four lines. The first and third lines in each stanza mimic iambic tetrameter—they contain roughly four iambic feet for a total of eight syllables. So, for example, Line 17’s meter is: “And then a Plank in Reason, broke.” The second and fourth lines approximate iambic trimeter—they contain three feet for a total of six syllables. Thus, the meter of Line 18 is: “And I dropped down, and down—”.

In the poem, the second and last lines in each stanza rhyme, creating the rhyme scheme ABCB. This sonic resonance gives the poem a harmonious sound that contrasts with the grating noise heard by the speaker. The purposeful, controlled form and meter give the poem a tidiness that clashes with the wrecked, distressed speaker, highlighting the messy feeling of death or trauma.

Repetition is a literary device in which the poet repeats specific words or phrases to emphasize a theme, idea, or feeling. In the poem, Emily Dickinson repeats words to underscore the speaker’s anxiety and distress. For instance, as the mourners are “treading—treading” (Line 3) in the speaker’s brain, the repetition makes their steps appear doubly oppressive.