Question

some keep the sabbath going to church —
i keep it, staying at home —
with a bobolink for a chorister —
and an orchard, for a dome —

what elements of ballad structure appear?

• the first and third lines rhyme and have the same number of syllables.
• the first and second lines have the same number of syllables.
• the second and fourth lines rhyme and have the same number of syllables.
• each line ends with a dash, and the second and fourth lines rhyme.

because i could not stop for death —
he kindly stopped for me —
the carriage held but just ourselves —
and immortality.

what evidence in the excerpt reveals dickinsons style?

• slant rhyme, dashes, and nonstandard capitalization
• perfect rhyme and first-person point of view
• different line lengths and the topic of death
• regular meter and lines of equal length

Explanation:

⚡ Using what you learned: close reading methods for poetic texts

Step 1: Analyze the first question on ballad structure

The first excerpt is:

Some keep the Sabbath going to Church — (Line 1)

I keep it, staying at Home — (Line 2)

With a Bobolink for a Chorister — (Line 3)

And an Orchard, for a Dome — (Line 4)

Let's count the syllables and analyze the rhyme scheme:

• Line 1: "Some keep the Sab-bath go-ing to Church" \(

ightarrow\) 9 syllables

• Line 2: "I keep it, stay-ing at Home" \(

ightarrow\) 7 syllables

• Line 3: "With a Bo-bo-link for a Cho-ris-ter" \(

ightarrow\) 9 syllables

• Line 4: "And an Or-chard, for a Dome" \(

ightarrow\) 7 syllables

Now let's check the rhymes:

• Line 2 ends in "Home" and Line 4 ends in "Dome". These two lines rhyme perfectly.
• Line 2 and Line 4 both have exactly 7 syllables.

This matches the option: "The second and fourth lines rhyme and have the same number of syllables."

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Step 2: Analyze the second question on Dickinson's style

The second excerpt is:

Because I could not stop for Death —

He kindly stopped for me —

The Carriage held but just Ourselves —

And Immortality.

Let's look at the stylistic elements present in this stanza:

• Dashes: Every line ends with a characteristic Emily Dickinson dash (—).
• Nonstandard capitalization: Words like "Death", "Carriage", "Ourselves", and "Immortality" are capitalized in the middle of lines.
• Slant rhyme: The words "me" and "Immortality" form a slant (or near) rhyme in the context of her broader poetic style, though here they are close to perfect. More broadly, Dickinson is famous for her signature combination of slant rhyme, dashes, and nonstandard capitalization.

This matches the option: "slant rhyme, dashes, and nonstandard capitalization".

Answer:

• First Question: The second and fourth lines rhyme and have the same number of syllables.
• Second Question: slant rhyme, dashes, and nonstandard capitalization