TELL ALL THE TRUTH
Tell all the truth but tell it slant,
Success in circuit lies,
Too bright for our infirm delight
The truth's superb surprise;
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.
With explanation kind,
The truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind.
Analysis/ Review of the poem.
A sensitive poem written by Emily Dickinson that describes the power of truth and how it should be taken piecemeal rather than in one superb surprise. Dickinson begins this piece with an instruction. She informs her listener that they must “Tell all the truth,” neglecting nothing. But do so “slant.” This would mean that the truth would be delivered indirectly. Rather than tell the truth in all its details, the speaker asks the reader to tell it in “Circuit.” One should jump around the truth, sharing bits and pieces of it without ever revealing the whole thing.
She explains her reasons, which is “Humans are infirm and weak”. They can not be able to handle it, if it comes as a surprise or shock, so one must be careful with what they share. According to the poet, the full truth should be told cautiously especially if it is hurtful or shocking and it should be told in increments so that the person is not offended. In the second stanza , the speaker uses a Simile to compare “Lightning” that scares children to the truth shocking one’s system. When the lightning is explained to frightened kids they understand it. Humans are like children when they face the full truth. Rather than hearing everything at once it makes more sense to take it in “gradually,” bit by bit.
Young people should learn from this, as the poet argue us to be truthful but in an amicable as we consider other people feelings and mental health.
Looking at the form and structure of the poem, Dickinson writes in the lyric style, in which the speaker of the poem is often referred to as “I.” It is broken into two stanzas, each with a syllable pattern of 8-6-8-6 (quatrain, a four lines). It has the rhyme scheme of A B C B D E F E.
Poetic devices applied in the poem:
Paradox: “Tell all the truth but tell it slant” is that the speaker wants the entire truth to be told, but indirectly. This is a paradox because telling the truth indirectly is not telling all of it.
Enjambment refers to the way that lines transitions into one another. A line is enjambed with it does not make use of end-punctuation and a reader has to move to the next line in order to conclude a phrase or sentence. For example, the transition between lines two and three, as well as four and five.
Alliteration is concerned with the use and reuse of words that begin with the same consonant sounds. For example, “Tell” and “Truth” in line one and “superb surprise” in line four.
Hyperbole: it is seen in the last line of the poem. This is an exaggeration depiction of the striking nature of truth and what it can mean for one’s life.