Welcome to Cross-Cultural Collaboration-Spring 2008: A Conversation about Emily Dickinson, an online conversation among students at Clemson University, South Carolina, United States, and Chalmers University of Technology, Göteborg, Sweden.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Group 4
Alfred C., Amandine C., Floyd T., Jon H., Jonathan W., Keith M.
I am an English Literature student at the mid-size Clemson University in South Carolina. This is unusual because Clemson is not well known for its English department; it is better known as an Engineering school. But I got my BA from a university with a huge well known English department and actually studied Emily Dickenson along with some of the other American Transcendentalist while at that university. My primary interest is in twentieth century literature, primarily literature of America, specifically of the South. For me it was important to understand that Dickinson was a recluse who only had seven of some 1800 poems published during her life time. Even though she led a sheltered life and never married her poetry is very insightful. Of the seven poems that she had published five of them were published in a newspaper, The Springfield Republican. She was female author who has become invoked by feminist as an author who was ahead of her time. “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” is perhaps the greatest poem written in the English language. In fact Allen Tate said, "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" is an extraordinary poem. In fact, he said, it deserves to be regarded as "one of the greatest in the English language; it is flawless to the last detail” (American Literature: A College Survey—1961). I get the feeling from this poem, as with many Dickinson poems that she is accepting, if not looking forward to, death because “death” is presented as a gentleman caller in the first stanza—almost like a fiancé’. As she rides along in the carriage with “death” she is looking back over her life from the beginning to the end. Death is not sudden, it is the result of some illness or debilitating condition that Dickinson is looking forward to the end of. I get this feeling from the carriage’s slow lumbering movement along its journey and the description of her tomb as a welcoming house:
We paused before a house that seemed A swelling of the ground; The roof was scarcely visible, The cornice but a mound. (13-16)
I could go on about this poem but I have already written too much. I hope that I have helped all ya’ll with an understanding of Emily Dickinson’s “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” and look forward to your responses.
I am studying mechanical engineering at Chalmers and I am taking this course for a breath of fresh air and for contrast to the normal math-orientated courses. I remember how I liked studying literature in high school but have since then not done much of the sort.
“A liquor never brewed” was a bit hard for me to decipher. To me flavors and scents are very connected to feelings and memories although this may be so due to their proximity in the limbic system. But how do you describe something un-tangible as an unknown taste? Of course by the reaction and emotions that spring from it. That way everyone can project their own emotional frame on what it should taste like and get some kind of personal reaction. The taste and feeling is there but it can never be synthesized in the form of something edible, but still the flavor is just as real. Then again the poem can also just be a presentation of a state of mind, a pipedream of sorts of a state in complete bliss and delirium with little (if any) consequence.
“Because I Could Not Stop for Death” has an interesting everyday quality to it, as in living takes up all your attention. Death is the ultimate price of life and can surely be seen as a companion through life, life is always responsible for the events preceding death and thusly death is merely a consequence not culprit. Life kind of gives death a bad name and most of us try to ignore death altogether in the name of self preservation.
I sort of winged it here and I´m not sure exactly where this is going, but I guess that´s what this blog is all about, going and not necessarily getting there?
Hi, My name is amandine, I am student of University of Chalmers. I come from France, so my English is not very good. I am in Sweden for six months and I would like to improve my English. I study mechanical engineering more particularly thermal and energies. It’s the first time I read English poem (or American poem). To my mind, it’s difficult to understand the first poem: “I taste a liquor never brewed” because I think there are a lot of images. I understand that it deals about alcohol, life and human being. For each poem we can give a topic, and topics are close. For the first one, I said: alcohol and life: “I taste a liquor never brewed” or “Yield such an Alcohol” For the second: the truth: “Tell all the Truth but tell it slant” or “The Truth must dazzle gradually”. I think “bright” refers to the truth too. The truth is a good thing, but we can’t all reveal in one time, we have to be careful with truth, we live with the lie around us that’s why: “The Truth must dazzle gradually Or every man be blind” And for the third poem, I chose: life, eternity and death:” BECAUSE I could not stop for Death” or “And Immortality”. I think she speaks about her way for the death, and the carriage it’s her means of transport, and it’s too slow: “We slowly drove - He knew no haste”. She always speaks about what we have around us (lie, truth, alcohol, …) or what we are always confronted on life and how to escape it (example: alcohol). We could talk about her point of view about life, conception of happiness. I don’t understand why she writes some words with capital letters on the beginning. Are they name?
She makes rhymes between the second and the fourth verse of each paragraph.
I chose the second poem: “Tell all the Truth but tell it slant “and my key words are: truth, lies and bright. There is a link between each, truth and lie are antonym and bright refers to the truth: bright colours make us happier, warmer (when we have the sun, we are more content) but if it’s too bright we can be blind (I think, it’s mean that too much truth will be harmful).
My name is Alfred Carlsson and I'm studying Computer Science at Chalmers. I like poetry as I come across it, but it is not something I have actively searched for in the past.
I think the three poems are very well written with quite an amount of thought behind them. "I taste a liquor never brewed" seems to be a praise to our nature's beauty, and about the author's relation to the nature, using words normally connected to alcohol usage. (I first thought it might have been a poetic description of how one feels when getting more and more drunk, but after looking up the meaning of "inebriate" and "debauchee" it was harder to defend that theory). "Tell all the truth but tell it slant" seems to be a clever and poetic way to say that we don't know everything, and we wouldn't handle knowing "the truth" unless we were given much time and were told in a gentle manner. "Because I could not stop for death" seems to be about someone not realizing his/her own death. I'm not sure what the author wants to say with this poem, if she actually wants to give us something beyond a mood and a crafted peace of text. The other poems seems to have a message, like "don't forget to enjoy the amazing nature" and "don't think you know everything", clothed in poetry. But what do you think she wants to say with the poem about death?
The one I liked best was "Tell all the truth but tell it slant". Striking images, clever phrasing and a classic, slightly mysterious subject: "The Truth".
Particularly, "As lightning to the children eased" is a very different, but interesting picture to use. It manages to say how untouchably strong this "truth" is and how impossible it might be to handle it carefully, as well as maintaining the view that we are are fragile like children in respect to it. The picture is followed immediately by a sentence that helps us understand how it should be interpreted, that we are talking about communicating something.
"Success in Circuit lies" is another phrasing I find interesting. It gives the poem the feeling of a riddle, which encourages me (perhaps subconsciously at first) to think carefully about the words and phrases in the poem. If that was intentional, it was clever. (I have not come across such a strategy before, but then again, I have not read that much poetry) It fits in well as a part of the poem, as well as part of the "answer" to the imagined riddle.
Outch, word quota reached and then some. :I
Looking forward to reading your interpretations and thoughts! Regards, Alfred Carlsson
My name is Keith and I am a Master of Arts in English student at Clemson University. I received my BA from a small school in Greenwood, South Carolina. My primary interest in literature is the Metaphysical poetry of the British Renaissance. “I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed” is Dickinson’s poem about life. She is “drunk” from life and nature. The tankards of the first stanza are large mugs with lids and are usually made of pearl. The speaker is better than any drink in the world and any form in Nature. She is living in what summer days are, warm and easy going. We thought that the line 'From inns of Molten Blue' refers to coming out of a depression of sorts. The speaker will not stop drinking of Life until she is dead and only then because she cannot drink anymore. For Dickinson in “Tell the Truth But Tell it SlantThe whole truth should be told, but when telling the truth be careful to tell it in a way that the listener can accept. The speaker is not telling the audience to lie, but to present the truth in the best possible way. Truth in its purest form is so brilliant it must be given with explanation or gradually or it could cause damage or be rejected. Exposing truth, is like looking at the sun, and must be done indirectly, or it can cause blindness. In “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” rather than being sad about dying, Dickinson wants the reader to view death as being an inevitable change, rather than an end to existence. By personifying death, she makes it seem relaxing and serene. She also adds to this effect by using vivid imagery and metaphors, as well as rhythm, to create a poem that plays out in the reader's mind like a movie, due also in part to the dramatic imagery. One of the major parts of this poem is the personification of death, a common theme in her poetry. By making death human, it makes death understandable.
Hello Friends, My name is Jonathan W. I am a master’s student in English at Clemson University and while my primary research interest is in early modern British studies, I am completing this assignment as part of a Victorian poetry course. I’m interested in moving on to a Ph.D. program to study Milton and other early modern poets. In reading this set of poems, I was particularly drawn to “Tell all the Truth but tell it slant,” particularly because of its discussion of the circuitous nature of this capital T “Truth.” Here, we see Truth as an entity that is not unfolded to us all at once, but comes to us in increments, somewhat like a narrative. Dickinson claims that that Truth must be “Too bright for our infirm Delight” (line 3). This view seems strikingly similar to many religion’s views of the sublime, or of a God-figure, but the complication that arises out of this view is that Dickinson insists that this sublime must be achieved not directly, but by a gradually unfolded route that is not clear to the subject in its individual parts, but in its grand state. As I read this poem, especially sandwiched between the two others—the first one about this intangible “liquor” and the second about the journey toward death—I could not help but begin to consider that the schematic vision of the poetic project itself might be, in a sense, similar to the view of the sublime that Dickinson articulates here. Take Dickinson’s discussion of Death, for instance, in “Because I could not stop for Death.” Death, like Truth, is an object which “[knows] no haste” (line 5). The mission of Death is one that the reader must read the entire poem and take it in as a whole in order to get Dickinson’s message. Even after reading the entire text, however, one might not fully understand the grasp toward eternity that Dickinson is attempting to access by way of the poetic project. Thanks, Jonathan
Hi all ya’ll, In this post I am going to approach the subject of Dickenson’s poem “I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed.” When Jon H. from Chalmers wrote, “A liquor never brewed” was a bit hard for me to decipher. To me flavors and scents are very connected to feelings and memories although this may be so due to their proximity in the limbic system.” He was giving us some insight into how the poem affected him personally, but he was overlooking Dickenson’s being a part of the transcendental movement. As a transcendentalist Dickenson is drawing on nature and natural things. The liquor spoken of in this poem is not alcoholic, but acts in the manner of alcohol. What she is describing here is the way nature makes her feel—intoxicated. Intoxication is commonly used as a metaphor for thrilling feelings or powerful attachments: think of the common phrase, “drunk with power.” And the “pearl” reference gives the reader the idea that her liquor (nature) is more precious than the finest of wines—better than the finest Rhine wine which is a highly prized white wine. We know that it is nature that has gotten her drunk when she says, “Inebriate of air am I, / And debauchee of dew.” Both Alfred, from Chalmers, and Keith, from Clemson pick up on the “nature” aspect of this poem. Alfred says, "I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed" seems to be a praise to our nature's beauty, and about the author's relation to the nature, using words normally connected to alcohol usage.” We even get a glimpse of this in the title, “a liquor never brewed.” If it has never been brewed then it cannot be some sort of alcoholic beverage—it must be something else, and if you know that Dickenson was a transcendentalist with a Puritan upbringing the chances are that “the liquor” is something to do with nature. Well that is all that I have for this poem considering the space allowed for these post. I did find all of the interpretations of these poems interesting. The way the works make each of you feel is what these poems are all about.
Amandine, letter 2: In the first letter I said that I don’t understand the first poem, but thanks to Keith and his letter1 I understand some words like : Tankards, because he gives us a definition, explain it and the context (I don’t find this word in any dictionary). He said also that she is “drunk” of life and nature, and that help me too in order to understand more the poem. I feel the same thing that Alfred when he says that in the poem “tell all the truth but tell it slant” seems to be a clever and poetic way to say that we don’t know everything and with Keith: Exposing truth, is like looking at the sun, and must be done indirectly, or it can cause blindness, I found it very representative of my interpretation of the poem. I interpret the same thing in my head, but I think because of my bad English and my lake of imagination I can’t success to write it in the first letter. But I’m not sure that in the poem “BECAUSE I could not stop for Death” it’s seem to be about someone not realizing his/her own death (like said Alfred), Emily Dickinson speaks about her, no? And she realizes that it will be her death? If you have the answer, thank you. In order to illustrate the poem: “Tell all the Truth but tell it slant” I chose a French proverb: “Le bruit de la vérité les épouvante comme la crécelle d’un lépreux” Henry de Montherlant. Why a proverb? Because I like it and I think in order to summarize an idea (general fact) or to represent it, proverbs are exactly what we need. This one means that sometimes we don’t want to know the truth, we avoid the truth like the rattle of the lepers (before we don’t want to be in contact with lepers). So we always live in the lie, the truth is the light in half-light of the lie. That’s why when we are confronted to the truth, we have to pay attention (“Or every man be blind”), it’s not usual for us and it can be dangerous.
Last time I did not mention anything about the ”Truth” poem. I find while Alfred while wrote regarding the line:
“"As lightning to the children eased" is a very different, but interesting picture to use. It manages to say how untouchably strong this "truth" is and how impossible it might be to handle it carefully, as well as maintaining the view that we are are fragile like children in respect to it.”
I actually interpreted the truth as knowledge in the way of an undisputed fact and a glimpse of reality as it really is. When you see a child about 3 years old and see them figure something out the first time it’s truly fascinating as it is learning in it’s purest and that knowledge is “truth” for the small one. Of course one could easily extend this view into Alfreds and also how Keith writes:
“Truth in its purest form is so brilliant it must be given with explanation or gradually or it could cause damage or be rejected. Exposing truth, is like looking at the sun, and must be done indirectly, or it can cause blindness.”
I find that the revelation of truth happens in an instant (as you see it in a child) but process up to that point can take an indefinite amount of time and if you don’t give it time enough truth (or knowledge) will never be attained resulting in blindness. One could say that we are blind until truth enlightens us.
Regarding the first lines I wrote about “A Liqour..” it was more a reflection of how and why emotions and taste can be described by each other in such a way and not so much that I interpret the poem to be sprung from alcohol or otherwise. Mixing feelings, literature analysis, human physiology and personal reflections in a vague “touchy-feely” manner can be a bit hard and I will try to be a bit more precise in the future, although these things tend to make for some interesting interpretations.
It is interesting to read your thoughts. I particularly feel that I understand the poem about death better. Regarding that poem Floyd T. said "Death is not sudden, it is the result of some illness or debilitating condition that Dickinson is looking forward to the end of". If the poem is about herself, it seems like Emily is trying to say she does not accept death as the end ("stop") of her life, but it has become her companion, ever present in her mind. As the second half of the poem starts (fourth stanza) she describes how fragile she is, quivering from dew, clothes with the thinnest of garments. (or that she is one with Nature, a meadow clothed by gossamer) She and Death pause shortly before what seems to be a grave, and then time goes on, but also Emily. Seems like she suggests that she will be aware of things even after dying. I wonder if she implies that she is and will continue to be a part of Nature, even after she dies.
Regarding the poem about Truth, I don't think it is about truth in general. If _could_ describe the difficulty of always telling the truth in a good way, when there is a risk of harming the listener with this truth, sure. But it doesn't feel quite right. This Truth seems larger. We cannot comprehend it if we were told plainly. It surprise and dazzles us. Every man could become blind by of it. It must be eased "like a lightning to a child." Jonathan says that "Dickinson claims that that Truth must be “Too bright for our infirm Delight” (line 3). This view seems strikingly similar to many religion’s views of the sublime, or of a God-figure" A bit like Jonathan says, I think she might be writing about a specific truth, like a view of life.
As for the multimodal contribution, here are two pictures I felt connected to "Tell all the truth but tell it slant" Approaching truth: http://tinyurl.com/39lajt Dickinson's view of the Truth: http://tinyurl.com/2njkz9
Hello again everyone, I am struck first of all by Alfred C.’s explication of “I taste a liquor never brewed,” especially when he claims it may be “a praise to our nature’s beauty.” I wonder here whether Dickinson is hearkening back to the Romantic tradition. She mentions “Seraphs,” but these seraphs are written of in the context of nature (the sun, snow, etc.). Similarly, the ingesting of liquor seems to be a description of the sublime in terms of the self. The liquor is drunk; in the same way, one must retreat introspectively into the depths of his or her own heart, and it is through the synthesizing of this outer substance (liquor) with the self that Dickinson herself is given leave to “[reel] thro’ endless summer days.” Similarly, as Amandine hinted at in her post when she claims that the poem is about alcohol and life, I would surmise that the alcohol becomes a sort of life-blood in itself, a metaphor for the force which breathes that transcendental life into the being. In order to become one with one’s self, then, paradoxically, one must partake in the ingesting of a substance that is fundamentally separate from the self. I wonder whether this substance, to return to my comment on metanarrative in the previous post, is analogous to poetry itself, to the act of writing a poem. Hopefully the image to which I link at jcwilliams.blogspot.com will help to prove my point. The individual who took this picture was standing inside of a window, though it looks as the photograph was itself taken outside. The distinction, then, between inside and outside is made unclear by the view within the picture. In the same way, Dickinson’s discussion of the sublime through the creation of the poetic text must leave one to wonder whether or not the poem itself is simply a reflection of the sublime, or an attempt in itself at achieving the sublime through the metaphor of alcohol. Have a good day, Jonathan
I think, after read all letters, that we have the same global meaning of the poem: “Tell all the Truth but tell it slant” (illustration: “A bit like Jonathan says, I think she might be writing about a specific truth, like a view of life.” said Alfred). I think it’s the one which we speak the most, is it because the other are too complicated? (In fact, for me it’s my reason). Floyd, you speak a lot about “I taste a liquor never brewed” and I would say: thank you for this (even it’s the work), because now, I understand more than: the poem deals about life and alcohol, thanks to your interpretation and explication I understand more than the global meaning of the poem. Jon, I like your interpretation of the poem of “Tell all….” When you says: “When you see a child about 3 years old and see them figure something out the first time it’s truly fascinating as it is learning in it’s purest and that knowledge is “truth” for the small one”. I find it very interesting and true.
Only two of you give something in order to understand more or illustrate your point of view of one of the poem. You two, you have chose pictures, Alfred’s pictures represent the sun in the background and someone in front of it, who see the sun but I am not sure if it’s the sunrise or sunset (beautiful pictures! I would like to be over there). I think it’s a link with “The Truth must dazzle gradually” like the sunrise, and I will also see a link with: “Too bright for our infirm Delight The Truth’s superb surprise », because the sunrise (or sunset) it’s always a superb surprise when it happens, I am right? Jonathan you chose a beautiful picture of a landscape. Sorry, but I don’t understand why you chose this picture, thus I can’t write something of it. regards, amandine
Good day bloggers, Let me begin my final letter by addressing Alfred. Your pictures of Dickinson’s views of truth proved especially enlightening to myself, the first of your photographs especially. Here, we see light emanating across the landscape, and while we see a hint of the sun itself, we cannot fully envision it, only the effects of it. This, for me, was an effective metaphor in trying to further analyze Dickinson’s view of truth in this poem. The poem itself is an attempt at articulating simply a small bit of that truth, but cannot express it fully, as the poem reflects the cognitive limitations of humankind’s ability to comprehend the macro nature of truth. Alfred writes, “We cannot comprehend it if we were told plainly. It surprise and dazzles us. Every man could become blind by of it.” This was beautifully put. Similarly, I was struck by Amandine’s use of the proverb, mostly because of what she said about the proverb. Thank you, Amandine. Like I was saying to Alfred, I completely agree with your assertion that “I think in order to summarize an idea (general fact) or to represent it, proverbs are exactly what we need.” The proverb itself serves as an additional metaphor, like the poem itself, for the nature of the grand narrative of truth which cannot even be approached on its own terms. We are bound by our human limitations of understanding, and are thus assisted by mechanisms such as proverbs – or pictures – in representing that truth in a way we might understand. Let me see if I can better explain my use of the photograph in my previous letter. It is a matter of perspective. One cannot tell if this picture of the outdoors was actually taken by the photographer as he/she stood outdoors or, as he/she looked through a window. The use of mechanisms such as poetry, and like this picture, emphasize the power and inevitably of perspective in articulating. If the truth must be told “slant,” than it is not being approached in a straightforward way, but by a perspective, so that that the one viewing the picture or reading the poem brings his or her own perspectives of the source of that truth to his or her reading of the poem. Hope this helps. I’ve really enjoyed reading all of your letters. Take care, Jonathan
Thinking of truth as knowledge, while traveling you know your way and where your going but can’t really see what you are passing as your rushing by. The lighting is sort of a representation of how much you know, but you can also get blinded by to much of it as it overexposes and distorts what’s in front of you. Composition wise, it is quite similar to Alfred’s second picture sans the lady.
Regarding to what Alfred wrote
“As the second half of the poem starts (fourth stanza) she describes how fragile she is, quivering from dew, clothes with the thinnest of garments. (or that she is one with Nature, a meadow clothed by gossamer)”
I thought about that clothing as the wrappings of a corps or as an outfit suiting an angel-like figure. The poem depicts the travel of life towards death and perhaps also the final travel in the casket as the burial procession passes through town where life goes on . Amadine wonders:
“BECAUSE I could not stop for Death” it’s seem to be about someone not realizing his/her own death (like said Alfred), Emily Dickinson speaks about her, no? And she realizes that it will be her death? If you have the answer, thank you.
I have a feeling the individual indeed understands her own death but does so from an accepting perspective, no fear or grief over death but rather with a nostalgic view on life.
I have avoided “Tell the Truth but Tell it Slant” because it is one of my least favorite; but I will now address it somewhat. Amadine’s proverb wraps it up nicely when she says that it means, “Sometimes we don’t want to know the truth…” Because what the poem is saying is that the truth should always be told, but sometimes the truth should be exposed in smaller doses, or perhaps in a way that is more palatable like when your girlfriend, boyfriend, wife, husband, better-half, or acquaintance buys the ugliest shirt you have ever seen in your life and ask, “Do you like my new shirt?” Instead of answering that it is the ugliest thing you have ever seen, you might say, “If that is what you wanted, you certainly got a good one.” That way you will have kept your own integrity without hurting someone’s feelings. Jon has also got something insightful going on when he says, “I actually interpreted the truth as knowledge in the way of an undisputed fact and a glimpse of reality as it really is”; for truth is knowledge but that knowledge must be tempered with kindness when you are presenting it to another. Keith had written earlier, “Truth in its purest form is so brilliant it must be given with explanation or gradually or it could cause damage or be rejected. Exposing truth, is like looking at the sun, and must be done indirectly, or it can cause blindness”; which is a perfect example of the damage that might be done by revealing the truth all at once. I have thoroughly enjoyed sharing with counterparts in Sweden and from other countries about one of the premiere American poets and I hope that it may inspire some of you just a little to further investigate some of the other American authors—particularly other Transcendentalist (Thoreau, Emerson, Whitman…); they all have value to the student of English language literature. Good luck with your endeavors and bye for now.
I did not notice the requirement for a multi-modal post so I am adding it at this time; just click on the word "Tomb" above to go there. It is a picture that reminds me of "Because I Could Not Stop for Death"; it reminds me of the lines:
"We paused before house that seemed A swelling of the ground; The roof was scarcely visible, The cornice but a mound."
I'll write about all three poems and compare my view with yours.
A liquor never brewed About “A liquor never brewed”, it seems like we all have a common view on the interpretation this poem, especially well described by Floyd in his second letter: from "The liquor spoken of in this poem is not alcoholic ..." to "... the chances are that “the liquor” is something to do with nature."
Because I could not stop for death In my first letter I wrote that the poem "Because I could not stop for death" might be about someone not realizing his/her death and Amandine asked about this interpretation in her second letter. This was my first impression when reading the poem and I'll explain briefly why. The first sentence "Because I could not stop for death" could be interpreted as someone saying "Because I am too busy, or too important I cannot stop for anything, not even for death. I know about death, but I will not accept it." I interpreted the first stanza as someone not accepting death, still dying, but perhaps not realizing it. The second stanza could describe how someone is approaching death, but it doesn't have to imply acceptance. The third, fourth and fifth could describe approaching of the grave, and the last stanza speaks about how centuries pass that feel shorter than a day, and a continuation towards eternity. I imagined that it was written by someone who looked back on life from beyond death, finally having realized (and accepted) that death has both come and gone.
It seems like there is a general view among us that it is about someone accepting death:
Jon wrote "I have a feeling the individual indeed understands her own death but does so from an accepting perspective"
Floyd wrote "I get the feeling from this poem, as with many Dickinson poems that she is accepting, if not looking forward to, death"
Keith wrote "rather than being sad about dying, Dickinson wants the reader to view death as being an inevitable change, rather than an end to existence."
Amandine wrote "Emily Dickinson speaks about her, no? And she realizes that it will be her death [, doesn't she]?"
I did not mean to say that the poem was about someone never accepting death, but that it was about someone realizing his/her death in retrospect.
Tell the truth but tell it slant Regarding "Tell the truth but tell it slant" I think we have three different views. 1. It is about truth in general. 2. It is about a specific, powerful Truth. 3. It is about learning/understanding.
Personally I'm leaning towards interpretation nr 2, but I can understand both of the other views. Always being true can be very powerful, and knowledge _is_ truth.
Thanks for all your interesting theories, reflections, ideas and feedback!
I would first like to apologize for my late posting. My partner had a heart attack and was hospitalized for most of last week.
I am intrigued by Jon H.’s analogy of the revelation of truth. The spark of understanding within the eyes of a child, or anyone for that matter, is truly amazing. One can see that moment when a concept is completely understood and internalized. I do dispute that this is most true with understanding, not necessarily, in my opinion, with the truth. Perhaps it occurs when the truth settles in and conforms to a person’s understanding. Amandine’s proverb by Henry de Montherlant, after some translations and thinking through, finally made sense to me. Truth can be very disturbing and frightening.
After reading the letters, Alfred C.’s points about Dickinson being “aware of things even after dying” and “will continue to be a part of Nature” struck me as true possibility. I reread the poems and could see his point. I hadn’t thought of the poem concerning life after death, but about dying itself. The poem, after Alfred C.’s analysis is incorporated, gives me a much more complete idea of Dickinson’s perception of the world, especially Death.
For my multimodal complement, I have found a drawing on a blog by Dave Walker called “The Cartoon Blog” (http://www.cartoonchurch.com/blog/index.php?s=truth). The blog/picture I am referring to is almost at the bottom of the page, so scroll up just a little. I have chosen this to represent the common interpretation of Dickinson’s “Tell the Truth, But Tell it Slant.” Many read the poem as telling the audience to not tell whole truth or to tell one’s perception of the truth.
Again, I would like to offer my apologies for this late posting. As you know from my second letter, my partner suffered a heart attack last week and I was unable to access my computer to post my letter.
After reading the postings for letter three, it would seem that everyone is mostly concerned with “Because I could not stop for Death.” I wonder if this is because of our pre-occupation with our own end?
The photo by Tom H. is appropriate because the long road Dickinson takes with Death is winding and neither will our own deaths be straight forward. The end of the road is behind a hill, beyond the horizon where we cannot see, just as our own journey will end.
Floyd T.’s picture is reminiscent, for me at least, of the primal perception of Death. The image strikes me as the “end all, be all” concept of the afterlife and the permanence is represented by the stone from which the sculpture is created.
Alfred C.’s two photos of his perception of truth are interesting choices. The first, with the person walking on the beach, capture Dickinson’s words. We walk through life, looking for truth, only to be awed by it and run the risk of injury in its pursuit. In the drawing, the figure finds the truth and is awestruck, represented by her hands being splayed and prone. Both are excellent representations of what Dickinson is saying about Truth.
I feel that everyone has done an excellent job in selecting his or her own multimodal complement.
23 comments:
Howdy ya’ll,
I am an English Literature student at the mid-size Clemson University in South Carolina. This is unusual because Clemson is not well known for its English department; it is better known as an Engineering school. But I got my BA from a university with a huge well known English department and actually studied Emily Dickenson along with some of the other American Transcendentalist while at that university. My primary interest is in twentieth century literature, primarily literature of America, specifically of the South.
For me it was important to understand that Dickinson was a recluse who only had seven of some 1800 poems published during her life time. Even though she led a sheltered life and never married her poetry is very insightful. Of the seven poems that she had published five of them were published in a newspaper, The Springfield Republican. She was female author who has become invoked by feminist as an author who was ahead of her time.
“Because I Could Not Stop for Death” is perhaps the greatest poem written in the English language. In fact Allen Tate said, "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" is an extraordinary poem. In fact, he said, it deserves to be regarded as "one of the greatest in the English language; it is flawless to the last detail” (American Literature: A College Survey—1961). I get the feeling from this poem, as with many Dickinson poems that she is accepting, if not looking forward to, death because “death” is presented as a gentleman caller in the first stanza—almost like a fiancé’. As she rides along in the carriage with “death” she is looking back over her life from the beginning to the end. Death is not sudden, it is the result of some illness or debilitating condition that Dickinson is looking forward to the end of. I get this feeling from the carriage’s slow lumbering movement along its journey and the description of her tomb as a welcoming house:
We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling of the ground;
The roof was scarcely visible,
The cornice but a mound. (13-16)
I could go on about this poem but I have already written too much. I hope that I have helped all ya’ll with an understanding of Emily Dickinson’s “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” and look forward to your responses.
Sincerely,
Floyd
Hello my fellow Dickenson readers.
I am studying mechanical engineering at Chalmers and I am taking this course for a breath of fresh air and for contrast to the normal math-orientated courses. I remember how I liked studying literature in high school but have since then not done much of the sort.
“A liquor never brewed” was a bit hard for me to decipher. To me flavors and scents are very connected to feelings and memories although this may be so due to their proximity in the limbic system.
But how do you describe something un-tangible as an unknown taste? Of course by the reaction and emotions that spring from it. That way everyone can project their own emotional frame on what it should taste like and get some kind of personal reaction.
The taste and feeling is there but it can never be synthesized in the form of something edible, but still the flavor is just as real.
Then again the poem can also just be a presentation of a state of mind, a pipedream of sorts of a state in complete bliss and delirium with little (if any) consequence.
“Because I Could Not Stop for Death” has an interesting everyday quality to it, as in living takes up all your attention.
Death is the ultimate price of life and can surely be seen as a companion through life, life is always responsible for the events preceding death and thusly death is merely a consequence not culprit.
Life kind of gives death a bad name and most of us try to ignore death altogether in the name of self preservation.
I sort of winged it here and I´m not sure exactly where this is going, but I guess that´s what this blog is all about, going and not necessarily getting there?
Hi,
My name is amandine, I am student of University of Chalmers. I come from France, so my English is not very good. I am in Sweden for six months and I would like to improve my English. I study mechanical engineering more particularly thermal and energies. It’s the first time I read English poem (or American poem).
To my mind, it’s difficult to understand the first poem: “I taste a liquor never brewed” because I think there are a lot of images. I understand that it deals about alcohol, life and human being. For each poem we can give a topic, and topics are close. For the first one, I said: alcohol and life: “I taste a liquor never brewed” or “Yield such an Alcohol” For the second: the truth: “Tell all the Truth but tell it slant” or “The Truth must dazzle gradually”. I think “bright” refers to the truth too. The truth is a good thing, but we can’t all reveal in one time, we have to be careful with truth, we live with the lie around us that’s why:
“The Truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind”
And for the third poem, I chose: life, eternity and death:” BECAUSE I could not stop for Death” or “And Immortality”. I think she speaks about her way for the death, and the carriage it’s her means of transport, and it’s too slow: “We slowly drove - He knew no haste”.
She always speaks about what we have around us (lie, truth, alcohol, …) or what we are always confronted on life and how to escape it (example: alcohol).
We could talk about her point of view about life, conception of happiness.
I don’t understand why she writes some words with capital letters on the beginning. Are they name?
She makes rhymes between the second and the fourth verse of each paragraph.
I chose the second poem: “Tell all the Truth but tell it slant “and my key words are: truth, lies and bright. There is a link between each, truth and lie are antonym and bright refers to the truth: bright colours make us happier, warmer (when we have the sun, we are more content) but if it’s too bright we can be blind (I think, it’s mean that too much truth will be harmful).
Hello everyone in the group.
My name is Alfred Carlsson and I'm studying Computer Science at Chalmers.
I like poetry as I come across it, but it is not something I have actively searched for in the past.
I think the three poems are very well written with quite an amount of thought behind them.
"I taste a liquor never brewed" seems to be a praise to our nature's beauty, and about the author's relation to the nature, using words normally connected to alcohol usage. (I first thought it might have been a poetic description of how one feels when getting more and more drunk, but after looking up the meaning of "inebriate" and "debauchee" it was harder to defend that theory).
"Tell all the truth but tell it slant" seems to be a clever and poetic way to say that we don't know everything, and we wouldn't handle knowing "the truth" unless we were given much time and were told in a gentle manner.
"Because I could not stop for death" seems to be about someone not realizing his/her own death.
I'm not sure what the author wants to say with this poem, if she actually wants to give us something beyond a mood and a crafted peace of text. The other poems seems to have a message, like "don't forget to enjoy the amazing nature" and "don't think you know everything", clothed in poetry. But what do you think she wants to say with the poem about death?
The one I liked best was "Tell all the truth but tell it slant". Striking images, clever phrasing and a classic, slightly mysterious subject: "The Truth".
Particularly, "As lightning to the children eased" is a very different, but interesting picture to use. It manages to say how untouchably strong this "truth" is and how impossible it might be to handle it carefully, as well as maintaining the view that we are are fragile like children in respect to it. The picture is followed immediately by a sentence that helps us understand how it should be interpreted, that we are talking about communicating something.
"Success in Circuit lies" is another phrasing I find interesting. It gives the poem the feeling of a riddle, which encourages me (perhaps subconsciously at first) to think carefully about the words and phrases in the poem. If that was intentional, it was clever. (I have not come across such a strategy before, but then again, I have not read that much poetry)
It fits in well as a part of the poem, as well as part of the "answer" to the imagined riddle.
Outch, word quota reached and then some. :I
Looking forward to reading your interpretations and thoughts!
Regards, Alfred Carlsson
Hello all,
My name is Keith and I am a Master of Arts in English student at Clemson University. I received my BA from a small school in Greenwood, South Carolina. My primary interest in literature is the Metaphysical poetry of the British Renaissance.
“I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed” is Dickinson’s poem about life. She is “drunk” from life and nature. The tankards of the first stanza are large mugs with lids and are usually made of pearl. The speaker is better than any drink in the world and any form in Nature. She is living in what summer days are, warm and easy going. We thought that the line 'From inns of Molten Blue' refers to coming out of a depression of sorts. The speaker will not stop drinking of Life until she is dead and only then because she cannot drink anymore.
For Dickinson in “Tell the Truth But Tell it SlantThe whole truth should be told, but when telling the truth be careful to tell it in a way that the listener can accept. The speaker is not telling the audience to lie, but to present the truth in the best possible way. Truth in its purest form is so brilliant it must be given with explanation or gradually or it could cause damage or be rejected. Exposing truth, is like looking at the sun, and must be done indirectly, or it can cause blindness.
In “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” rather than being sad about dying, Dickinson wants the reader to view death as being an inevitable change, rather than an end to existence. By personifying death, she makes it seem relaxing and serene. She also adds to this effect by using vivid imagery and metaphors, as well as rhythm, to create a poem that plays out in the reader's mind like a movie, due also in part to the dramatic imagery. One of the major parts of this poem is the personification of death, a common theme in her poetry. By making death human, it makes death understandable.
Yours truly,
Keith
Hello Friends,
My name is Jonathan W. I am a master’s student in English at Clemson University and while my primary research interest is in early modern British studies, I am completing this assignment as part of a Victorian poetry course. I’m interested in moving on to a Ph.D. program to study Milton and other early modern poets.
In reading this set of poems, I was particularly drawn to “Tell all the Truth but tell it slant,” particularly because of its discussion of the circuitous nature of this capital T “Truth.” Here, we see Truth as an entity that is not unfolded to us all at once, but comes to us in increments, somewhat like a narrative. Dickinson claims that that Truth must be “Too bright for our infirm Delight” (line 3). This view seems strikingly similar to many religion’s views of the sublime, or of a God-figure, but the complication that arises out of this view is that Dickinson insists that this sublime must be achieved not directly, but by a gradually unfolded route that is not clear to the subject in its individual parts, but in its grand state.
As I read this poem, especially sandwiched between the two others—the first one about this intangible “liquor” and the second about the journey toward death—I could not help but begin to consider that the schematic vision of the poetic project itself might be, in a sense, similar to the view of the sublime that Dickinson articulates here. Take Dickinson’s discussion of Death, for instance, in “Because I could not stop for Death.” Death, like Truth, is an object which “[knows] no haste” (line 5). The mission of Death is one that the reader must read the entire poem and take it in as a whole in order to get Dickinson’s message. Even after reading the entire text, however, one might not fully understand the grasp toward eternity that Dickinson is attempting to access by way of the poetic project.
Thanks,
Jonathan
Letter 2:
Hi all ya’ll,
In this post I am going to approach the subject of Dickenson’s poem “I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed.”
When Jon H. from Chalmers wrote, “A liquor never brewed” was a bit hard for me to decipher. To me flavors and scents are very connected to feelings and memories although this may be so due to their proximity in the limbic system.” He was giving us some insight into how the poem affected him personally, but he was overlooking Dickenson’s being a part of the transcendental movement.
As a transcendentalist Dickenson is drawing on nature and natural things. The liquor spoken of in this poem is not alcoholic, but acts in the manner of alcohol. What she is describing here is the way nature makes her feel—intoxicated. Intoxication is commonly used as a metaphor for thrilling feelings or powerful attachments: think of the common phrase, “drunk with power.” And the “pearl” reference gives the reader the idea that her liquor (nature) is more precious than the finest of wines—better than the finest Rhine wine which is a highly prized white wine. We know that it is nature that has gotten her drunk when she says, “Inebriate of air am I, / And debauchee of dew.” Both Alfred, from Chalmers, and Keith, from Clemson pick up on the “nature” aspect of this poem. Alfred says, "I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed" seems to be a praise to our nature's beauty, and about the author's relation to the nature, using words normally connected to alcohol usage.” We even get a glimpse of this in the title, “a liquor never brewed.” If it has never been brewed then it cannot be some sort of alcoholic beverage—it must be something else, and if you know that Dickenson was a transcendentalist with a Puritan upbringing the chances are that “the liquor” is something to do with nature.
Well that is all that I have for this poem considering the space allowed for these post. I did find all of the interpretations of these poems interesting. The way the works make each of you feel is what these poems are all about.
Sincerely,
Floyd T.—Clemson
Amandine, letter 2:
In the first letter I said that I don’t understand the first poem, but thanks to Keith and his letter1 I understand some words like : Tankards, because he gives us a definition, explain it and the context (I don’t find this word in any dictionary). He said also that she is “drunk” of life and nature, and that help me too in order to understand more the poem. I feel the same thing that Alfred when he says that in the poem “tell all the truth but tell it slant” seems to be a clever and poetic way to say that we don’t know everything and with Keith: Exposing truth, is like looking at the sun, and must be done indirectly, or it can cause blindness, I found it very representative of my interpretation of the poem. I interpret the same thing in my head, but I think because of my bad English and my lake of imagination I can’t success to write it in the first letter. But I’m not sure that in the poem “BECAUSE I could not stop for Death” it’s seem to be about someone not realizing his/her own death (like said Alfred), Emily Dickinson speaks about her, no? And she realizes that it will be her death? If you have the answer, thank you.
In order to illustrate the poem: “Tell all the Truth but tell it slant” I chose a French proverb: “Le bruit de la vérité les épouvante comme la crécelle d’un lépreux” Henry de Montherlant. Why a proverb? Because I like it and I think in order to summarize an idea (general fact) or to represent it, proverbs are exactly what we need. This one means that sometimes we don’t want to know the truth, we avoid the truth like the rattle of the lepers (before we don’t want to be in contact with lepers). So we always live in the lie, the truth is the light in half-light of the lie. That’s why when we are confronted to the truth, we have to pay attention (“Or every man be blind”), it’s not usual for us and it can be dangerous.
Hello again!
Last time I did not mention anything about the ”Truth” poem. I find while Alfred while wrote regarding the line:
“"As lightning to the children eased" is a very different, but interesting picture to use. It manages to say how untouchably strong this "truth" is and how impossible it might be to handle it carefully, as well as maintaining the view that we are are fragile like children in respect to it.”
I actually interpreted the truth as knowledge in the way of an undisputed fact and a glimpse of reality as it really is. When you see a child about 3 years old and see them figure something out the first time it’s truly fascinating as it is learning in it’s purest and that knowledge is “truth” for the small one.
Of course one could easily extend this view into Alfreds and also how Keith writes:
“Truth in its purest form is so brilliant it must be given with explanation or gradually or it could cause damage or be rejected. Exposing truth, is like looking at the sun, and must be done indirectly, or it can cause blindness.”
I find that the revelation of truth happens in an instant (as you see it in a child) but process up to that point can take an indefinite amount of time and if you don’t give it time enough truth (or knowledge) will never be attained resulting in blindness.
One could say that we are blind until truth enlightens us.
Regarding the first lines I wrote about “A Liqour..” it was more a reflection of how and why emotions and taste can be described by each other in such a way and not so much that I interpret the poem to be sprung from alcohol or otherwise.
Mixing feelings, literature analysis, human physiology and personal reflections in a vague “touchy-feely” manner can be a bit hard and I will try to be a bit more precise in the future, although these things tend to make for some interesting interpretations.
-Jon
Letter 2.
=========
Hello again!
It is interesting to read your thoughts.
I particularly feel that I understand the poem about death better.
Regarding that poem Floyd T. said "Death is not sudden, it is the result of some illness or debilitating condition that Dickinson is looking forward to the end of".
If the poem is about herself, it seems like Emily is trying to say she does not accept death as the end ("stop") of her life, but it has become her companion,
ever present in her mind.
As the second half of the poem starts (fourth stanza) she describes how fragile she is, quivering from dew, clothes with the thinnest of garments. (or that she is one with Nature, a meadow clothed by gossamer)
She and Death pause shortly before what seems to be a grave, and then time goes on, but also Emily. Seems like she suggests that she will be aware of things even after dying.
I wonder if she implies that she is and will continue to be a part of Nature,
even after she dies.
Regarding the poem about Truth, I don't think it is about truth in general.
If _could_ describe the difficulty of always telling the truth in a good way, when there is a risk of harming the listener with this truth, sure. But it doesn't feel quite right. This Truth seems larger.
We cannot comprehend it if we were told plainly. It surprise and dazzles us. Every man could become blind by of it. It must be eased "like a lightning to a child."
Jonathan says that "Dickinson claims that that Truth must be “Too bright for our infirm Delight” (line 3). This view seems strikingly similar to many religion’s views of the sublime, or of a God-figure"
A bit like Jonathan says, I think she might be writing about a specific truth, like a view of life.
As for the multimodal contribution, here are two pictures I felt connected to "Tell all the truth but tell it slant"
Approaching truth: http://tinyurl.com/39lajt
Dickinson's view of the Truth: http://tinyurl.com/2njkz9
Regards
Alfred Carlsson
Hello again everyone,
I am struck first of all by Alfred C.’s explication of “I taste a liquor never brewed,” especially when he claims it may be “a praise to our nature’s beauty.” I wonder here whether Dickinson is hearkening back to the Romantic tradition. She mentions “Seraphs,” but these seraphs are written of in the context of nature (the sun, snow, etc.). Similarly, the ingesting of liquor seems to be a description of the sublime in terms of the self. The liquor is drunk; in the same way, one must retreat introspectively into the depths of his or her own heart, and it is through the synthesizing of this outer substance (liquor) with the self that Dickinson herself is given leave to “[reel] thro’ endless summer days.”
Similarly, as Amandine hinted at in her post when she claims that the poem is about alcohol and life, I would surmise that the alcohol becomes a sort of life-blood in itself, a metaphor for the force which breathes that transcendental life into the being. In order to become one with one’s self, then, paradoxically, one must partake in the ingesting of a substance that is fundamentally separate from the self. I wonder whether this substance, to return to my comment on metanarrative in the previous post, is analogous to poetry itself, to the act of writing a poem. Hopefully the image to which I link at jcwilliams.blogspot.com will help to prove my point. The individual who took this picture was standing inside of a window, though it looks as the photograph was itself taken outside. The distinction, then, between inside and outside is made unclear by the view within the picture. In the same way, Dickinson’s discussion of the sublime through the creation of the poetic text must leave one to wonder whether or not the poem itself is simply a reflection of the sublime, or an attempt in itself at achieving the sublime through the metaphor of alcohol.
Have a good day,
Jonathan
I think, after read all letters, that we have the same global meaning of the poem: “Tell all the Truth but tell it slant” (illustration: “A bit like Jonathan says, I think she might be writing about a specific truth, like a view of life.” said Alfred). I think it’s the one which we speak the most, is it because the other are too complicated? (In fact, for me it’s my reason).
Floyd, you speak a lot about “I taste a liquor never brewed” and I would say: thank you for this (even it’s the work), because now, I understand more than: the poem deals about life and alcohol, thanks to your interpretation and explication I understand more than the global meaning of the poem. Jon, I like your interpretation of the poem of “Tell all….” When you says: “When you see a child about 3 years old and see them figure something out the first time it’s truly fascinating as it is learning in it’s purest and that knowledge is “truth” for the small one”. I find it very interesting and true.
Only two of you give something in order to understand more or illustrate your point of view of one of the poem.
You two, you have chose pictures, Alfred’s pictures represent the sun in the background and someone in front of it, who see the sun but I am not sure if it’s the sunrise or sunset (beautiful pictures! I would like to be over there). I think it’s a link with “The Truth must dazzle gradually” like the sunrise, and I will also see a link with:
“Too bright for our infirm Delight
The Truth’s superb surprise », because the sunrise (or sunset) it’s always a superb surprise when it happens,
I am right?
Jonathan you chose a beautiful picture of a landscape. Sorry, but I don’t understand why you chose this picture, thus I can’t write something of it.
regards, amandine
Good day bloggers,
Let me begin my final letter by addressing Alfred. Your pictures of Dickinson’s views of truth proved especially enlightening to myself, the first of your photographs especially. Here, we see light emanating across the landscape, and while we see a hint of the sun itself, we cannot fully envision it, only the effects of it. This, for me, was an effective metaphor in trying to further analyze Dickinson’s view of truth in this poem. The poem itself is an attempt at articulating simply a small bit of that truth, but cannot express it fully, as the poem reflects the cognitive limitations of humankind’s ability to comprehend the macro nature of truth. Alfred writes, “We cannot comprehend it if we were told plainly. It surprise and dazzles us. Every man could become blind by of it.” This was beautifully put.
Similarly, I was struck by Amandine’s use of the proverb, mostly because of what she said about the proverb. Thank you, Amandine. Like I was saying to Alfred, I completely agree with your assertion that “I think in order to summarize an idea (general fact) or to represent it, proverbs are exactly what we need.” The proverb itself serves as an additional metaphor, like the poem itself, for the nature of the grand narrative of truth which cannot even be approached on its own terms. We are bound by our human limitations of understanding, and are thus assisted by mechanisms such as proverbs – or pictures – in representing that truth in a way we might understand.
Let me see if I can better explain my use of the photograph in my previous letter. It is a matter of perspective. One cannot tell if this picture of the outdoors was actually taken by the photographer as he/she stood outdoors or, as he/she looked through a window. The use of mechanisms such as poetry, and like this picture, emphasize the power and inevitably of perspective in articulating. If the truth must be told “slant,” than it is not being approached in a straightforward way, but by a perspective, so that that the one viewing the picture or reading the poem brings his or her own perspectives of the source of that truth to his or her reading of the poem. Hope this helps. I’ve really enjoyed reading all of your letters. Take care,
Jonathan
Hello again.
I was lacking in pictures in the last letter and thought I may put in some in this one. Here is one I found connected to the “truth” poem
http://www.fotosidan.se/gallery/viewpic.htm/1253542.htm?set=lp
Thinking of truth as knowledge, while traveling you know your way and where your going but can’t really see what you are passing as your rushing by. The lighting is sort of a representation of how much you know, but you can also get blinded by to much of it as it overexposes and distorts what’s in front of you.
Composition wise, it is quite similar to Alfred’s second picture sans the lady.
Regarding to what Alfred wrote
“As the second half of the poem starts (fourth stanza) she describes how fragile she is, quivering from dew, clothes with the thinnest of garments. (or that she is one with Nature, a meadow clothed by gossamer)”
I thought about that clothing as the wrappings of a corps or as an outfit suiting an angel-like figure.
The poem depicts the travel of life towards death and perhaps also the final travel in the casket as the burial procession passes through town where life goes on .
Amadine wonders:
“BECAUSE I could not stop for Death” it’s seem to be about someone not realizing his/her own death (like said Alfred), Emily Dickinson speaks about her, no? And she realizes that it will be her death? If you have the answer, thank you.
I have a feeling the individual indeed understands her own death but does so from an accepting perspective, no fear or grief over death but rather with a nostalgic view on life.
Letter 3
Hi All Ya’ll future Transcendentalist,
I have avoided “Tell the Truth but Tell it Slant” because it is one of my least favorite; but I will now address it somewhat.
Amadine’s proverb wraps it up nicely when she says that it means, “Sometimes we don’t want to know the truth…” Because what the poem is saying is that the truth should always be told, but sometimes the truth should be exposed in smaller doses, or perhaps in a way that is more palatable like when your girlfriend, boyfriend, wife, husband, better-half, or acquaintance buys the ugliest shirt you have ever seen in your life and ask, “Do you like my new shirt?” Instead of answering that it is the ugliest thing you have ever seen, you might say, “If that is what you wanted, you certainly got a good one.” That way you will have kept your own integrity without hurting someone’s feelings.
Jon has also got something insightful going on when he says, “I actually interpreted the truth as knowledge in the way of an undisputed fact and a glimpse of reality as it really is”; for truth is knowledge but that knowledge must be tempered with kindness when you are presenting it to another. Keith had written earlier, “Truth in its purest form is so brilliant it must be given with explanation or gradually or it could cause damage or be rejected. Exposing truth, is like looking at the sun, and must be done indirectly, or it can cause blindness”; which is a perfect example of the damage that might be done by revealing the truth all at once.
I have thoroughly enjoyed sharing with counterparts in Sweden and from other countries about one of the premiere American poets and I hope that it may inspire some of you just a little to further investigate some of the other American authors—particularly other Transcendentalist (Thoreau, Emerson, Whitman…); they all have value to the student of English language literature.
Good luck with your endeavors and bye for now.
Your American friend,
Floyd T.
I did not notice the requirement for a multi-modal post so I am adding it at this time; just click on the word "Tomb" above to go there. It is a picture that reminds me of "Because I Could Not Stop for Death"; it reminds me of the lines:
"We paused before house that
seemed
A swelling of the ground;
The roof was scarcely visible,
The cornice but a mound."
Floyd T.
Letter 3
========
Hello again friends.
I'll write about all three poems and compare my view with yours.
A liquor never brewed
About “A liquor never brewed”, it seems like we all have a common view on the interpretation this poem, especially well described by Floyd in his second letter:
from "The liquor spoken of in this poem is not alcoholic ..."
to "... the chances are that “the liquor” is something to do with nature."
Because I could not stop for death
In my first letter I wrote that the poem "Because I could not stop for death" might be about someone not realizing his/her death and Amandine asked about this interpretation in her second letter.
This was my first impression when reading the poem and I'll explain briefly why.
The first sentence "Because I could not stop for death" could be interpreted as someone saying "Because I am too busy, or too important I cannot stop for anything, not even for death. I know about death, but I will not accept it."
I interpreted the first stanza as someone not accepting death, still dying, but perhaps not realizing it.
The second stanza could describe how someone is approaching death, but it doesn't have to imply acceptance. The third, fourth and fifth could describe approaching of the grave, and the last stanza speaks about how centuries pass that feel shorter than a day, and a continuation towards eternity.
I imagined that it was written by someone who looked back on life from beyond death, finally having realized (and accepted) that death has both come and gone.
It seems like there is a general view among us that it is about someone accepting death:
Jon wrote "I have a feeling the individual indeed understands her own death but does so from an accepting perspective"
Floyd wrote "I get the feeling from this poem, as with many Dickinson poems that she is accepting, if not looking forward to, death"
Keith wrote "rather than being sad about dying, Dickinson wants the reader to view death as being an inevitable change, rather than an end to existence."
Amandine wrote "Emily Dickinson speaks about her, no? And she realizes that it will be her death [, doesn't she]?"
I did not mean to say that the poem was about someone never accepting death, but that it was about someone realizing his/her death in retrospect.
Tell the truth but tell it slant
Regarding "Tell the truth but tell it slant" I think we have three different views.
1. It is about truth in general.
2. It is about a specific, powerful Truth.
3. It is about learning/understanding.
Personally I'm leaning towards interpretation nr 2, but I can understand both of the other views.
Always being true can be very powerful, and knowledge _is_ truth.
Thanks for all your interesting theories, reflections, ideas and feedback!
All the best.
Alfred Carlsson
Letter 2
Hello Everyone,
I would first like to apologize for my late posting. My partner had a heart attack and was hospitalized for most of last week.
I am intrigued by Jon H.’s analogy of the revelation of truth. The spark of understanding within the eyes of a child, or anyone for that matter, is truly amazing. One can see that moment when a concept is completely understood and internalized. I do dispute that this is most true with understanding, not necessarily, in my opinion, with the truth. Perhaps it occurs when the truth settles in and conforms to a person’s understanding. Amandine’s proverb by Henry de Montherlant, after some translations and thinking through, finally made sense to me. Truth can be very disturbing and frightening.
After reading the letters, Alfred C.’s points about Dickinson being “aware of things even after dying” and “will continue to be a part of Nature” struck me as true possibility. I reread the poems and could see his point. I hadn’t thought of the poem concerning life after death, but about dying itself. The poem, after Alfred C.’s analysis is incorporated, gives me a much more complete idea of Dickinson’s perception of the world, especially Death.
For my multimodal complement, I have found a drawing on a blog by Dave Walker called “The Cartoon Blog” (http://www.cartoonchurch.com/blog/index.php?s=truth). The blog/picture I am referring to is almost at the bottom of the page, so scroll up just a little. I have chosen this to represent the common interpretation of Dickinson’s “Tell the Truth, But Tell it Slant.” Many read the poem as telling the audience to not tell whole truth or to tell one’s perception of the truth.
Until Next Time,
Keith M.
Letter 3
Hello All for the Last Time,
Again, I would like to offer my apologies for this late posting. As you know from my second letter, my partner suffered a heart attack last week and I was unable to access my computer to post my letter.
After reading the postings for letter three, it would seem that everyone is mostly concerned with “Because I could not stop for Death.” I wonder if this is because of our pre-occupation with our own end?
The photo by Tom H. is appropriate because the long road Dickinson takes with Death is winding and neither will our own deaths be straight forward. The end of the road is behind a hill, beyond the horizon where we cannot see, just as our own journey will end.
Floyd T.’s picture is reminiscent, for me at least, of the primal perception of Death. The image strikes me as the “end all, be all” concept of the afterlife and the permanence is represented by the stone from which the sculpture is created.
Alfred C.’s two photos of his perception of truth are interesting choices. The first, with the person walking on the beach, capture Dickinson’s words. We walk through life, looking for truth, only to be awed by it and run the risk of injury in its pursuit. In the drawing, the figure finds the truth and is awestruck, represented by her hands being splayed and prone. Both are excellent representations of what Dickinson is saying about Truth.
I feel that everyone has done an excellent job in selecting his or her own multimodal complement.
Good-bye everyone,
Keith M.
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