Close Reading of Emily Dickinson’s “Tell all the truth but tell it slant”

Emily Dickinson’s poem “Tell all the Truth but tell it slant” provides important insights into how the form of a text can support the construction of, and even highlight its meaning.  In this short poem, Dickinson is able to weave together many linguistic devices that complement each other perfectly and make the poem flow very easily.  Precisely, it is this apparent easiness in the text that tricks us into what seems a very logical and simple conclusion.  However, once we read the text carefully, peeling and analyzing its different layers, we are able to look at this poem in a new light.

     Given that this essay’s main argument is built around the form of the text, a scansion of four of its lines will provide an insight into the lyrical structure chosen by Dickinson.

Tĕll áll / thĕ trúth / bŭt téll / ĭt slánt /

Sŭccéss / ĭn Cír / cŭit líes /

Tŏo bríght / fŏr óur / ĭnfírm / Dĕlíght /

Thĕ Trúth's / sŭpérb / sŭrpríse /

     Each foot of the poem contains one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable. We find four iambic feet (tetrameter) in the first line, three iambic feet (trimeter) in the second line, four iambic in the third, and three iambic in the fourth.  The structure just described is known as ‘Common Meter’ or ‘Hymn Meter’, which is defined as “a closed poetic quatrain, rhyming A B A B, in which iambic tetrameter alternate with iambic trimeter.” (Washington State University) 

     Dickinson’s use of common meter provides the first clue of how the text’s meaning is brilliantly disguised in this poem.  The text is structured in a fairly simple manner, making it “easy” for the ordinary mind to take in the words.  However, there is nothing simple or easy about this poem.  One must go beyond the outer layer to uncover all the truth.    

    Other important qualities of this poem’s form are provided by its many linguistic elements.  I will concentrate on the ones which are the most relevant to my argument.  Beginning with the use of metaphor, Dickinson compares truth to a bright light.  This comparison is important as it leads us to the contrast between light and darkness.  A mind that does not confront the truth and is closed to new ideas remains in darkness, hence, in ignorance.  Dickinson’s choice of using the figure of lightning as visual imagery in the poem complements the metaphor.  The associations conveyed by this word fit in perfectly with the binary opposition of light and darkness.  

     Additionally, we find the use of simile in lines three to six (Too bright for our infirm Delight / The Truth's superb surprise / As Lightning to the Children eased / With explanation kind) Dickinson explains the shock of being confronted with a surprising truth as something too bright for us to comprehend just like the phenomena of lightning is for children.  We also find the use of alliteration to highlight words that support the poem’s central theme such as tell – truth as well as slant - success - circuit. 

     Furthermore, Dickinson’s use of the term slant brings insight into how the structure and the theme of her poem are intertwined. According to the Emily Dickinson Museum, “rhyme that is not perfect is called ‘slant rhyme’ or ‘approximate rhyme.’” When looking at the text’s unconventional use of rhyme, it becomes clear how the word ‘slant’ serves the disguised purpose of calling attention to the poem’s structure in itself.

     Moving on to the central paradox of the poem, it lies in the apparent contradiction between telling all the truth and getting to it through an indirect or diluted approach.  Some people will argue that the truth must be told bluntly, without circumventing, so that it is pure and free of biases.  The text’s literal layer, however, seems to support the idea of telling the truth more effectively by approaching it gradually and carefully so as to not overwhelm the recipient.

     However, we must go deeper into the layers to find all the truth in this text.  A careful reading of the second line, “Success in Circuit lies,” brings attention to the word lies.  We are now confronted with a binary opposition: the truth versus lies.  Furthermore, this line seems to suggest that lies equal success.  All of a sudden, what we thought was the true meaning of the poem starts crumbling and the brightness of the actual truth threatens to blind us.     

   This discovery is “too bright for our infirm Delight.”  We would be so much happier by having found the meaning of the poem easily, in the outer layer of the text, while naively thinking with satisfaction that the great Emily Dickinson was an advocate for telling the whole truth.  We prefer infirm delight over a solid truth that challenges our minds. We favor a nice little story that gives us peace of mind over the actual truth because it threatens to destroy the basis of our beliefs and then – how do we go from there?

     We have uncovered, therefore, how Dickinson plays with the reader through a text woven with very fine and subtle stitches of satire.   By peeling carefully some of the layers, we realize how she is comparing the common mind to that of a child who chooses to live in an illusion rather than being confronted with ugly truths about the world. Someone who does not dig or question the layers of society, gender norms, tradition, etc., will probably find it easier to navigate the world, have successful relations and achieve, therefore, success in life.

     Dickinson’s genius shines in this poem where the playful and witty use of language with multiple meanings and her subtle irony are brilliantly disguised by rather conventional uses of meter and linguistic elements.  This poem about truth contains a truth in itself and it is up to the reader to confront the brightness of the lightning and not be blinded by its surprising revelation.   

               

References

Emily Dickinson, "Tell all the truth but tell it slant" from The Poems of Emily Dickinson: Reading Edition, ed by Ralph W. Franklin. (The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1998) 

Emily Dickinson Museum, https://www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org/poetry_characteristics

Washington State University, http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/common.html

Dear Anne Frank-Poems by Marjorie Agosin: Bad writing, bad translation, bad editing... I am not sure what happened here.

When I found a reference to this book in an article abut Hispanic writers who live in the US and write in Spanish, I was thrilled. I love any type of literature inspired by Anne Frank and thought, "I need to have this book!"

Fast forward two days, I happily received the package from Amazon. That night, I embarked in yet another reading journey with high expectations. Expectations fail, what a disappointment!

I would really like to know who was in charge of editing the Spanish texts of this work. Brandeis University Press, shame on you!

Evidently this work was just meant for Anglo readers. I have not found one review in Spanish. Of course, the ones who just read the English version of the poems, rave about Agosín's work. Now, I won't even go into the quality of the poetry in itself (I really don't think it is the best I have read but I am not an expert so let's just leave it at that) but I am a Spanish instructor and English - Spanish translator, Spanish is my native language and this book insults me both personally and professionally.

What I find mesmerizing (well, more so than the rest of the issues with this publication) is that from what I understand, the pieces were originally written in Spanish. So, I would think the most logical turnout would be for there to be errors in translation in the English version of the poems. But that is not the case. The English version of the texts look fine to me. But the Spanish... what a disaster!

So, what happened here? I would love for someone to explain to me how this book was published with horrible mistakes in its original version. This is a serious case of "vergüenza ajena" as we say in Spanish.

You can see how the above photos support my comments. They were taken from two of the first poems I encountered in this travesty. 

On the first one, you can see how instead of the word "espesas" for "thick" (the author is referring to Anne's eyebrows) they have used the word "esposas" which makes no sense at all in this context. 

On the second photo you can see how there's a switch in the form of address of the "YOU". It starts with "Usted", then goes to "Ustedes", and then, horror of horrors you can find this brilliant sentence: "¿Alguien de USTEDES HAS visto...? Ustedes HAS visto? This is a mistake a first year student of one of my Spanish courses would make.

I found a lot of more mistakes in the use of the Spanish language and I did not even get through half of this book. I don't think I will be able to because it hurts my eyes and my heart. Shame, shame, shame. ¡Qué vergüenza!