Lyric Poem · Hope

Had I presumed to hope

by Emily Dickinson

Had I presumed to hope —

The loss had been to Me

A Value — for the Greatness' Sake —

As Giants — gone away —

Had I presumed to gain

A Favor so remote —

The failure but confirm the Grace

In further Infinite —

'Tis failure — not of Hope —

But Confident Despair —

Advancing on Celestial Lists —

With faint — Terrestial power —

'Tis Honor — though I die —

For That no Man obtain

Till He be justified by Death —

This — is the Second Gain —

Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.

“Had I presumed to hope” by Emily Dickinson — quilloak.com/poems/had-i-presumed-to-hope

Quick facts

Poem: Had I presumed to hope
Poet: Emily Dickinson
Length: 16 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Hope, Death & Loss

Craft notes

How this poem works

Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.

Shape: 16 lines · 4 quatrains
End rhyme: No regular perfect end rhyme. The poem may still be using slant rhyme, assonance, or internal echo, which this check does not score.
Line length: Consistent with short metre. Two short lines, one longer, one short (6.6.8.6) — the short hymn stanza.

Want the rules this form is measured against? Read what makes a lyric poem, or run your own draft through the form checker to see the same measurements on your lines. How we measure · Report a mistake

Text, source & rights

A traceable edition

Full-text display is based on the committed source record and a United States term-expiry review.

Author record: Emily Dickinson1830–1886
Source record: PoetryDBHad I presumed to hope by emily-dickinson, PoetryDB transcription
Display decision: Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record: Not recorded in the imported source
Text fingerprint: SHA-256 b5ad85240d4401cf…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

Jurisdiction-specific, never a worldwide claimRights policy Report a text or rights issue

Lyric Poem Hope Death & Loss

Keep reading

The Zero on the Cake

The QuillOak Editors

A zero on the birthday cakecan read like a full stop —a summit marker, halfway sign,

8 lines · lyric

A Birthday Blessing

The QuillOak Editors

May your coffee stay hot, may your phone hold its charge,may small luck find you daily and big luck loom large;may the year rolling toward you arrive like a friend —

4 lines · quatrain

A Wish with a Face

The QuillOak Editors

We painted a room for a rumor,bought socks for a hope,hummed songs to a heartbeat

6 lines · free verse

More poems about hope →