Ambiguity Marks Ambivalence Dissent in Emily Dickinson's Tell All The Truth

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Ambiguity marks ambivalence: Dissent in Emily Dickinson’s Tell All the Truth.
As a great poet equal to Whitman in the history of American Literature, Emily
Dickinson was renowned for her obscure punctuation, odd meter and rhyme, as well as
for her ambiguity. Living in the 19th century, Dickinson is so not conformed to
mainstream society. In an era of the economy booming, scientific breakthroughs bursting
as well as religions arousing, Dickinson’s isolation stands out, and indeed, in the later
years, praised by critics for her eminent uniqueness. Her work Tell All the Truth but Tell
It Slant is a self-contradictory poem that can best illustrate her “slant-telling”
(Friedlander 34) poetics and her ambivalent mind. This essay will first discuss how this
poem contradicts itself and then elaborate on how Dickinson deviates from the
mainstream in terms of her beliefs in religion and her double position given the historical
context.
The poem Tell All the Truth but Tell It Slant reflects a paradoxical attitude given its
dictions and figurative language. At first glance, readers may think Dickinson is so
desperate to convey her idea of “tell all the truth but tell it slant” (Fr1263, line 1) that she
even repeats it four times. However, the seeds of ambiguity have already been sown in
the first line. Is it “tell all the people the truth” or “tell the complete truth”? The following
line is the one that creates the most ambiguity. In a poem about telling the truth, the word
“lie” is an eyesore. Should readers understand it as “Success resides in Circuit”, or
“Success achieved in a Circuit way is a lie”? Also, the dictions are interesting. As
concluded from Dickinson’s other poems, “Success” is quite ironic since she may not be
considered successful in her lifetime. Drawing on this, it is justifiable to suggest this line
is written for some satirical reasons. In the second part, the poet used lightning as a
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metaphor to illustrate why truth should be told indirectly. But considering the slightly
confusing grammar, the line reads like “the lightning was eased with a kind explanation”.
What is also odd is the oxymoron of “dazzle gradually” (Fr1263, line 7). A superb,
surprising truth cannot dazzle gradually, it is always like lighting that happens all at once.
These figurative languages make readers almost feel as if it is a fictional situation. To this
extent, the whole poem subverts itself. Maybe that is how Dickinson tells the truth. She
believed in the “slant-telling” philosophy that she realized only in writing a contradictory
and ambiguous poem can prove her poetics.
Stepping further, this poem reveals Dickinson’s ambivalent attitude towards
mainstream religious beliefs. Back in 1872, Amherst town was still in the aftermath of the
Great Awakening. A century has passed, and the fervent disciples are still passionate
about preaching Calvinism. Born in a decent family, Dickinson received a conventional
religious education from an early age, which largely influenced her poem writing. In Tell
All the Truth but Tell It Slant, the theory of “Direct contact with truth makes people
blind” is identical to the New Testament theme. In Exodus, one scene is when the thunder
and lighting come, God told Moses: “Go down, charge the people, lest they break through
unto the Lord to gaze, and many of them perish” (19:16-21). Here the “Lord” is the
“Truth” in Dickinson’s poem. Although some religious elements can be found in her
poetry, as a distinctive individual, Dickinson did not really believe in such a divine
religion (Zhou 15). Throughout her lifetime, she regarded joining the church as a
conformity behaviour which would destroy her independence in thought as well as
dignity. She refused to yield her rights to churches and priests of understanding religious
doctrines. For Dickinson, keeping herself sane and independent is far more important
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than believing in any religion. Maybe that is why she described a paradoxical situation in
the lightning story—to covertly show her dissention from conventionally explained
Christianity.
Another contradiction resides in Dickinson’s dual position, which can be
demonstrated by the imageries of “Circuit” and “Circumference”. She is the centre of her
own poetic kingdom, but the circumference of the outer world. “Success in Circuit lies”
(Fr1263, line 2), here “Circuit” can refer to a roundabout way, or in terms of unveiling
the truth, to explain it as reachable and understandable. Dickinson spent almost her whole
life in this “Circuit”, that is, the house inherited from her father. But sticking in this
familiar space did not prevent her from developing a profound insight into the exterior
world. By delving into her poetry, the imagery of “Circumference” can be found in the
opposing “Circuit”. For Dickinson, the circumference parallels a boundary. It is the
boundary between herself and the others, between the familiar space and the exterior
world and also between the reachable and unreachable truth. As an isolated female,
Dickinson is standing at the edge of this “circumference”, gently but firmly expressing
her disagreement with the outer world. Her seven publications of poems cannot be
defined as “Success”, but she never compromised her writing style to the public literary
standards. Interestingly, over five hundred poems were “self-publication” (Hoppe 349) in
letters to her contacts. Such a circuitous “success” is different from the values of
materialism and capitalism in 19th-century American society. This double position can be
showcased in Tell All the Truth but Tell It Slant and may be the reason she chose to write
it in such an ambivalent way.
At this level of analysis, Emily Dickinson’s short poem Tell All the Truth but Tell It
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Slant expresses a self-contradictory meaning but illustrates her poetics of “slant-telling”.
Simultaneously, her ambivalent attitude embedded in the poem’s ambiguity also reflects
her dissenting views on religion and her dual position. It is her dissent from the majority
that makes her stand out and shine so brightly in literary history.
Works Cited
Fr The Poems of Emily Dickinson. ed. R.W. Franklin. 3 vols. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard UP, 1998. Citation by poem number.
Friedlander, Benjamin. “Devious Truths.” The Emily Dickinson Journal, vol. 18, no.
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1, 2009, pp. 32–43, https://doi.org/10.1353/edj.0.0197.

Hoppe, Jason. “Personality and Poetic Election in the Preceptual Relationship of
Emily Dickinson and Thomas Wentworth Higginson, 1862-1886.” Texas Studies in
Literature and Language, vol. 55, no. 3, 2013, pp. 348–387,
https://doi.org/10.7560/TSLL55304.
The Holy Bible: New International Version, Containing the Old Testament and the
New Testament. Zondervan Bible Publishers, 1978.
Zhou, Lin. “Emily Dickinson’s Contradiction.” Shang Dong University, 2007.

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Mao 1

As a great poet equal to Whitman in the history of American Literature, Emily

mainstream society. In an era of the economy booming, scientific breakthroughs bursting

It Slant is a self-contradictory poem that can best illustrate her “slant-telling”

“lie” is an eyesore. Should readers understand it as “Success resides in Circuit”, or

and ambiguous poem can prove her poetics.

Stepping further, this poem reveals Dickinson’s ambivalent attitude towards

about preaching Calvinism. Born in a decent family, Dickinson received a conventional

conformity behaviour which would destroy her independence in thought as well as

Another contradiction resides in Dickinson’s dual position, which can be

opposing “Circuit”. For Dickinson, the circumference parallels a boundary. It is the

it in such an ambivalent way.

Slant expresses a self-contradictory meaning but illustrates her poetics of “slant-telling”.

1, 2009, pp. 32–43, https://doi.org/10.1353/edj.0.0197.

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