I Vote for Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson
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 --
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posted by Mrzhire at
2:06 PM
12 Comments:
I'm voting for Emily Dickinson because there are SO many interpretations of her poetry. In this poem, it reminds me of Politics and the English Language but it's weird because she wants a distorted truth...I'm interested to learn more about her.
TPCAST
Title - ALL the truth and SLANT are contradictory...doesn't make sense
Paraphrase -
1. tell me the truth...but kinda distort it a little, or sugar coat it for me
2. you'll get better results if you pad the issue...tell em what they want to hear
3. If you tell us the whole, specific truth it will be too much, too bright
4. The actual truth would be too surprising...truth is always covered up
5-6. you know how parents explain lightning to little kids (not actual truth, but like angels bowling and stuff)
7-8. ease people into the truth or else you might really freak them out! (reminds me of that new movie coming out about the 15 year old girl who gets pregnant...)
I'm voting for Emily Dickinson and trust me I'm sort of surprised. I didn't really want to pick a renowned author but after I read her poem about Truth in class today I realized she led a life of solitude. It's interesting to think that the people who have got it going on for them on the outside are messed up on the inside. Her writing may be dark but sometimes we need to look at the world from that perspective because it isn't flowers and daisies.
I vote for Dickinson because both her poems are deep, and the other two options are defunct... I don't support femini-nazis and suicidal maniacs... let alone desire to hear their (disturbed) thoughts
I'm voting for Emily Dickinson because I think she would be the best writer to do a commentary on. I also feel Emily Dickinson is also an author for which the statement "there are no wrong interpretations" applies, which makes me feel good for knowing I'm never wrong (if I make some attempt at a thought out response to her work).
I really didn't want to vote for Emily Dickinson because honestly I thought it would be much too difficult, but after listening to the gilligan guys I'm intrigued. The idea that Dickinson only wrote poetry within this pattern makes it easily identifiable and the limitations caused by this can be discussed. I also enjoy the pardox of her tone and meaning.
I'm voting for Emily Dickinson because it's one of the writers that I actually can understand (I don't know if that makes me weird, but whatever). I like her poetry because it is so abstract and can be understood so many ways; it gives me room for creativity.
TPCAST
1. Title: The title is the same as the first line of the poem by editors choice so I don't know if Dickinson really meant for a title to exist.
2. The truth is not meant for mortals to see all a once; bits and pieces allow us to find our way, but it is not possible to force someone to see the light (especially if people see different lights).
3. Truth can't be absorbed by humans without excessive reprocussions; truth is a concept beyond that cannot be handled directly.
4. Slanting the truth allows for a distorted view of what is actually true, but it prevents one from never being able to see truth again (being blind to the truth).
5.-6. Lightning is a bright light that appears only for a second, but is often distorted by rain, and it's near impossible to remember the exact shape of the lightning. The lightning could be glimpses of the truth parents give to children in the natural order of growing up, but with two much lightning, the children refuse look any more and become scared of the truth.
7.-8. Maybe Dickonson is commenting on her own distorted view, because she realizes that she never sees the same lightning that her parents see. She may be commenting that she has turned away from the accepted truth (maybe religious) and is searching for a new way to see it. (Maybe she has gone blind-I do think that this is one poem where she is the speaker as well as the author.)
I'm voting for Emily Dickenson because her peotry can be interpreted with so much meaning. The content and tone being depressing as it usually is in her peoms gives an interesting spin on life.
TPCAST
Title: Many of you know Dickenson never titled her peoms, so "Tell the Truth but tell it slant" seems out of place and contradictory.
1.) Dickenson wants the truth but she wants it distored for whatever reason. This is intesting considering her background.
2.) She talks like Yoda all backward, she means tell them what they want to hear. (i.e Lie)
3.) The whole truth can sometimes be to much for people to handle, "to bright" as she puts it.
4.) Truth can suprise, but suprise is not always good.
5-6.) Lightning is a natural phenemenon, Parents often don't understand it themselves so they distort the unknown truth so their children have piece of mind.
7-8.) The truth if it is significan must not be rushed otherwise it can "blind" and hurt somebody. Dickenson could be refering to a number of occurances in her own life in this.
MORE PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE VOTED FOR DICKINSON!!! AHHHHH.
I guess i'm partly to blame for that......
She seems a lot like Sylvia in sense that she was clearly a bit...interesting...internally (although i think dickinson was that way externally as well). But Dickinson appeals to me also because she is considered to be one of the top poets of the 1800s, man or woman. That has to count for something.
Title: Some what of a paradox to tell the lie telling the truth....that kind of undermines the very definition of telling the truth.
1. You've gotta tell the truth the way you think it oughtta be told.
2. Telling circuitous lies (lies leading to more lies; all trying to feign truth) is the mark of success; interesting syntax in that line though. i may have misinterpreted it....
3. Sometimes, we're better off not knowin' nothin; it's enlightening...but TOO enlightening...
4. You can't handle the truth!!
5-6. When i saw lightening when i was a little kid, I used to cry.
So yeah. Then my parents told me I shouldn't be scared of it and so I eventually got over it. Of course, lightning can kill you....
So basically, not to use a Yogiism, you just gotta do what you gotta do. (In this case, telling lies for the better).
7-8. So basically, if the truth ain't good, I DON'T WANNA KNOW!
Yaay, woohoo, now I can sleep with a clear conscience!
I also would like to study Dickinson because i like the 'olde' english writing style, i think its a bit easier to analyze and i think poetry from two different time periods might give us students some good variety.
Title - ignorance is bliss
1. kind of like politics, wording is everything, make them believe what they want to believe and not reality
2.perhaps kind of like politics in the english language? keep using big words in order to continue talking in circles and confusing everyone around you for your own benefit
3.line three paints the picture of someone that is happy - delightful simply because they do not know any better.
4.the truth is something far greater than your birthday and Christmas combined because you really have no idea what you're going to get and it may impact your life far more than a traditional gift
5-6.the truth can comfort those in distress like kids in a lightning storm but should be used sparingly so that people don't go nuts with the new information
7-8.for there to be any reform we must be slowly fed new knowledge and gradually wean ourselves from our preconceived notions so that progress can be eventually made.
"I vote for Dickinson because both her poems are deep, and the other two options are defunct... I don't support femini-nazis and suicidal maniacs... let alone desire to hear their (disturbed) thoughts"
-Alex
After reading the passage above i decided IB has become a little to dark and that it wouldn't hurt us to chill out. the options mentioned above are gloomy, why not lighten up a bit if we can?
TPCAST
T - "Tell the truth but tell it slant" This is a lie but not a direct lie. This would be like telling part of the truth but omitting the incriminating parts.
P - Dickinson is telling the audience to tell the truth but to sort of lie so that they can give the right impression.
C - "success in circuit lies" This implies that in order to successfully deceive someone it is necessary to tell a series of lies. "The truth must dazzle gradually or every man be blind" This implies that nobody can handle the whole truth at once. The entire truth is overwhelming so it is necessary for people to gain nuggets of comprehension at a time and put them together to discover the truth.
A - The speakers attitude is condescending. The speaker seems to consider herself to be omniscient and more capable of discovering the truth than the audience.
S - In the beginning of the poem the audience is being told to tell slant truths but this shifts toward the end when we are told that no matter how many lies are told the truth will come out in the end.
T - The title is interesting because it makes me wonder whether this poem isn't slanted. It is possible that Dickinson wrote this to make the audience wonder whether or not her poem is true.
(Belated)
I would have voted for Emily Dickinson because the way she structures her poems and the abstraction she uses when placing imagery of a physical manifestation of things with an idea or thought or emotion.
TPCAST
Title: “Tell all the Truth but tell it slant –“ It’s an awkward title, and it being the very first line may suggest that Dickinson didn’t really know what to title the poem, so she used the first line.
Paraphrase: Truth is something that must come slowly because out tiny human brains cannot comprehend it’s magnitude all at once, however truth will never full come upon us and what little we know will help take the next step (which may reveal another part of truth).
Connotations: The “but tell it slant” sticks out which makes me think of distortion, so maybe truth is not always what it seems.
Attitude: Truth is not always what it seems (again…) and can distort our view.
Shifts: “As Lightning to the Children eased“ Definite shift here. It’s like taking truth as a metaphor or simile
Title: We need to be aware of truth and all it’s components, the ones easy to see, and others not so easy to see so that a step can be made towards progress.
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