The Midsummer Mind

Tell all the truth but tell it slant -  Success in Circuit lies Too bright for our infirm Delight The Truth’s superb surprise As Lightning to the Children eased With explanation kind The Truth must dazzle gradually Or every man be blind -  Fr 1263 “Tell all the truth but tell it slant” is written is a single stanza poem written in the ABCB rhyme scheme, which gives it a familiar rhythm and lends itself towards memory.  This poem deals not only with the subject of truth, but focuses in on the ways in which truth must be communicated to be effective. The speaker of the poem insists that truth must be told, but that you also tell it in a way that it can be understood to the listener. The second line states “Success in Circuit lies”.  The Dickinson Lexicon offers many different definitions for “circuit”, but in the context of the poem the most likely definition is “ a roundabout mode of speech, expression, or reason; avoiding the use of a s...

I know that He exists. Somewhere - in silence -  He has hid his rare life  From our gross eyes. ‘Tis an instant’s play - ‘Tis a fond Ambush -  Just to make Bliss Earn her own surprise! But - should the play Prove piercing earnest -  Should the glee - glaze - In Death’s - stiff - stare - Would not the fun  Look too expensive! Would not the jest -  Have crawled too far! Fr 365             This poem is written in quatrains, and opens with an assertion confirming the speaker’s belief in the existence of God. However, like many Dickinson poems, this initial statement becomes undermined by the rest of the poem.  In the first stanza, the speaker asserts that she does believe in God, however she immediately follows this statement by saying that he is hidden himself from us. Right from the beginning, the speaker’s faith is shrouded in uncertainty. God exis...

Like Time’s insidious wrinkle On a beloved Face -  We clutch the Grace the tighter Though we resent the Crease The Frost himself so comely Dishevels every prime Asserting from his Prism That none can punish him  Fr 1264              “Like Time’s insidious wrinkle” is a Dickinson poem about the inevitability of growing old and the unrelenting nature of time. The form that Dickinson chose for this poem is interesting. It could easily be split into two separate quatrains. The poem already follows the ABCB rhyme scheme, so the change in form would seem natural. Yet, Dickinson chose to write the poem in a single stanza. It is possible that this creative choice was due to the content of the poem. Since the subject is about the constancy of time, writing the poem in one stanza adds to the tone in important ways. “Like Time’s insidious wrinkle” also lacks Dickinson’s common use of dashes to break ...

My period had come for Prayer- No other Art - would do -  My tactics missed a rudiment -  Creator - Was it you? God grows above - so those who pray  Horizons - must ascend - And so I stepped opon the North To see this Curious Friend -  His House was not - no sign had He -  By Chimney - nor by Door -  Could I infer his Residence -  Vast Prairies of Air Unbroken by a Settler -  Were all that I could see -  Infinitude - Had’st Thou no Face That I might look on Thee? The Silence condescended -  Creation stopped - for me -  But awed beyond my errand -  I worshipped - did not “pray” -  Fr 525             “My period had come for Prayer” is written in Dickinson’s signature quatrains. Her use of the familiar ABCB rhyme scheme gives the poem a sing-song flow and draws the reader in, while the content of the poem tak...

Shall I take thee, the Poet said To the propounded word? Be stationed with the Candidates Till I have finer tried -  The poet searched Philology  And was about to ring For the suspended Candidate There came unsummoned in -  That portion of the Vision  The word applied to fill Not unto nomination The Cherubim reveal -  Fr  1243 This poem is “meta”, it is a poem about the process of writing a poem. The speaker opens with the poet addressing the word choices, pondering their worthiness within the form. There is tension throughout the poem, as the poet works to find language that perfectly communicates her vision, initially without success. The speaker applies worldy, political terms to the words she considers for use. She refers to them as “candidates” and “propounded”. Her word choices seem stately in nature, ready to be chosen because of their merit in communicating the thoughts of the poem. The poet is having tro...

Split the Lark - and you’ll find the Music - Bulb after Bulb, in Silver rolled - Scantily dealt to the Summer Morning Saved for your Ear, when Lutes be old - Loose the Flood -  you shall find it patent - Gush after Gush, reserved for you - Scarlet Experiment! Sceptic Thomas! Now, do you doubt that your Bird was true? Fr 905 In her poem “Split the Lark - and you’ll find the Music”, Dickinson is concerned with epistemology. The question of knowledge and what justifies its validity is a common theme within Dickinson’s poetry. In this poem, the speaker evaluates the methods used to gain knowledge, and offers a critique on the expansive growth of empiricism as the sole method for determining the validity of evidence. The speaker also seems to differentiate “knowledge”, gathered by empirical evidence, and a deeper, more subtle “truth”.  The poem follows a familiar form for Dickinson, it is written in quatrains with an ABCB rhyme scheme. This rhyme sch...