Question

“exclusion”
by emily dickinson

the soul selects her own society,
then shuts the door;
on her divine majority
obtrude no more.

unmoved, she notes the chariot’s pausing
at her low gate;
unmoved, an emperor is kneeling
upon her mat.

i’ve known her from an ample nation
choose one;
then close the valves of her attention
like stone.

works cited
dickinson, emily. “exclusion.” poems by emily dickinson, edited by thomas higginson and m. w. longfellow, boston, 1890

○ abba, cddc, effe
○ abcd, abcd, abcd
○ abab, cdcd, efef
○ abcb, defe, ghfg

Explanation:

To find the rhyme scheme, label each line's end sound:

1. Stanza 1: "society" (a), "door" (b), "majority" (a), "more" (b) → abab
2. Stanza 2: "pausing" (c), "gate" (d), "kneeling" (c), "mat" (d) → cdcd
3. Stanza 3: "nation" (e), "one" (f), "attention" (e), "stone" (f) → efef

Combine these to get the full rhyme scheme.

Answer:

abab, cdcd, efef