You Said That I by Emily Dickinson: poem analysis

This is an analysis of the poem You Said That I that begins with:

You said that I "was Great"—one Day—
Then "Great" it be—if that please Thee—... full text

Elements of the verse: questions and answers

The information we provided is prepared by means of a special computer program. Use the criteria sheet to understand greatest poems or improve your poetry analysis essay.

  • Rhyme scheme: aaXa XbXb ccca aaXaXa
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 4,4,4,6,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: rondeau rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: tercets
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 1111101011 1100000111 11110111 100111 110111 110101 11010101 11 110101 11100100 11 1111 110100 1111 0111 1101010110 010100 111
  • Amount of stanzas: 4
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 118
  • Average number of words per stanza: 24
  • Amount of lines: 18
  • Average number of symbols per line: 26 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 5

  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; or is repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same word or is repeated.

    The poet repeated the same word thee at the end of some neighboring stanzas. The poetic device is a kind of epiphora.

If you write a school or university poetry essay, you should Include in your explanation of the poem:

  • summary of You Said That I;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

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