17 pages • 34 minutes read
Emily DickinsonTell all the truth but tell it slant
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1890A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Further Reading & Resources
Related Poems
“A Counterfeit – a Plated Person” by Emily Dickinson (c. 1890)
Published around 1890, “A Counterfeit – a Plated Person” shares the similar attempt at defining the truth but extends the outlook to social class, poor behavior towards others, and the consequences of lying. This poem is similar in that it addresses the greater good and having a good reputation, both when alive and dead.
“A Chilly Peace Infests the Grass” by Emily Dickinson (c. 1890)
“A Chilly Peace Infests the Grass” explores several themes: peace (or the small amount of it), lies, half-conscious awareness, nature versus industry, as well as harboring a space for humanity, no matter where they are from. Within this message are subtle opposites (“chilly” and “peace,” as well as the verb “infests”).
“To mend each tattered faith” by Emily Dickinson (c. 1890)
“To mend each tattered faith” addresses one’s allegiance to faith, as well as the way life can tatter it. Like the descriptions of truth, Dickinson’s faith is sewn in the air with no appearance. As with caring for others when telling the truth, faith is equally fragile, comfortable, and spacious at the same time. Like truth, there is ample room for identity.
Further Literary Resources
“Biography” by Emily Dickinson Museum
The Emily Dickinson Museum maintains and displays the two homesteads of Emily Dickinson. The Museum has collected over 8,000 personal artifacts, such as family furniture, plates and utensils, and artworks among other objects of the household. The homesteads are open to visitors, as well as the objects on display. The museum also maintains data on Dickinson, such as her biography, letters, and manuscripts.
“The Big Read, Emily Dickinson” by National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts provides educational material for Kindergarten through 12th grade. “The Big Read” is a lesson plan designed to educate students on not just Dickinson’s craft but also the social, cultural, and political contexts in which she wrote. The lesson plan also offers supplemental readings on those contexts and addresses Dickinson’s poetry in terms of rhyme, meter, theme, and literary device.
“Emily Dickinson 1830–1886” by The Poetry Foundation (2022)
The Poetry Foundation publishes poems, readings of poems, as well as information on poetic craft. “Emily Dickinson 1830-1886” is an extensive biography that focuses on factual information about Dickinson’s life, such as her academic pursuits from grade school through college, work with mentors and teachers, and the various letters she wrote. In addition, the article explores family dynamics, influence, and demands, as well as external social and historical factors with which she contended.
Listen to Poem
Poet Alice Barclay of Live Canon Poetry reads Dickinson’s poem “Tel All the Truth but Tell It Slant.”
Related Titles
By Emily Dickinson
