Lyric Poem · Nature

The butterfly obtains

by Emily Dickinson

Reading room

1The butterfly obtains

2But little sympathy

3Though favorably mentioned

4In Entomology —

5Because he travels freely

6And wears a proper coat

7The circumspect are certain

8That he is dissolute —

9Had he the homely scutcheon

10Of modest Industry

11'Twere fitter certifying

12For Immortality —

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“The butterfly obtains” by Emily Dickinson — quilloak.com/poems/the-butterfly-obtains

Quick facts

Poem: The butterfly obtains
Poet: Emily Dickinson
Length: 12 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Nature

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: 12 lines · 3 quatrains
Line length: Mostly 6-syllable lines (trimeter length).

The poem’s silhouette — approximate syllables per line, measured from the text above. Even bars mean a measured line; ragged bars mean the poem sets its own widths.

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Text, source & rights

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

Author record: Emily Dickinson1830–1886
Source record: PoetryDBThe butterfly obtains 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 b2ca5be6294d3852…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Nature

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