Spring 2000: Text Encoding & Website Development

Kevin Hawkins (http://www.wam.umd.edu/~khawkins/) 
eriC White (whitee@wam.umd.edu)



We marked up version HB74a (http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/dickinson/safe/hb74a.html) 
of the poem on the syn (breath group) level rather than 
by line and line groups.  We felt that Dickinson used dashes to 
separate salient ideas rather than line breaks.  She tended to 
break lines when she ran out of space, not necessarily because 
the thought was finished.  Here’s the key:

<lg></lg>  = a lg, which includes syns
<syn></syn>  = a syn (breath group), which is followed by a dash 
by default or another character if noted with "end=".   Utterances 
may contain words, line breaks, and words in the vocative (<voc>).
<w></w> = a word
<W></W> = a word not capitalized in Standard English but capitalized 
by Dickinson
<br/> = a line break
<voc> = a noun in the vocative form
<sig></sig> = a signature, which has nothing following it by default 
but may be if specified by "end="

-----

<lg>
<syn end=comma><W>safe</W><w>in</w><w>their</w><W>alabaster</W><W>chambers</W><br/></syn>
<syn><W>untouched</W><w>by</w><W>morning</W><br/></syn>
<syn><W>and</W><w>untouched</w><w>by</w><W>noon</W><br/></syn>
<syn><W>lie</W><w>the</w><w>meek</w><w>members</w><w>of</w><br/><w>the
</w><W>resurrection</W></syn>
<syn><W>rafter</W><w>of</w><W>satin</W></syn>
<syn><w>and</w><W>roof</W><w>of</w><br/><W>stone</W><br/></syn>
</lg>

<lg>
<syn><W>grand</W><w>go</w><w>the</w><W>years</W></syn>
<syn><w>in</w><w>the</w><br/><W>crescent</W></syn>
<syn><w>above</w><w>them</w><br/></syn>
<syn><W>worlds</W><w>scoop</w><w>their</w><W>arcs</W><br/></syn>
<syn><W>and</W><W>firmaments</W></syn>
<syn><w>row</w><br/></syn>
<syn><W>diadems</W>
<syn><w>drop</w></syn>
<syn><w>and</w><W>doges</W><br/></syn>
<syn><W>surrender</W><br/></syn>
<syn><W>soundless</W><w>as</w><w>dots</w></syn>
<syn><w>on</w><w>a</w><br/><W>disc</W><w>of</w><W>snow</W><br/></syn>
</lg>

<prose>
<syn><W>perhaps</W><w>this</w><w>verse</w><w>would</w><br/><w>please</w><w>you</w><w>better</w></syn>
<syn><voc>Sue</voc></syn>
</prose>

<sig end=slash>Emily</sig>