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Poetry Analysis: Tell All the Truth but Tell it Slant In her poem, Tell All the Truth but Tell it Slant, Emily Dickinson touches on the theme of truth. More specifically, she explores the idea that truth is an active process, not one that is stumbled upon but one, instead, that must be orked up to ith deliberation. Althou!h the simple truth initially appears to be the sub"ect of the poem, Dickinson uses en"ambment of the poem#s lines, repeated references to active modes of li!ht, and oxymoronic phrasin! to demonstrate the final messa!e of truth as an active process, one that !ro s and must be !ro n into and fully accepted. As the poem pro!resses, the phrases Dickinson utili$es spill over from one line to the next% this en"ambment plays a central part in impartin! the idea that truth is active. As the sentences in the poem spread from one line to the next ith little punctuation, each sentence must be pieced to!ether by the reader one phrase at a time. &his slo , thou!htful process, then, adheres fully to the poem#s final messa!e. As the lines spill over from one to another, they mirror the active process hich the speaker declares that the true truth is. &ruth is not somethin! to find 'uickly, in an instant flash of enli!htenment, but instead a slo search, one that (must da$$le !radually) in order to be fully taken in and appreciated. As the en"ambment flo s throu!hout the poem, then, it also falls into line ith that messa!e. &he speaker be!ins ith one idea, to (tell all the truth but tell it slant*) and ith that idea sets a base for the continuation of the poem. As it pro!resses, then, each subse'uent line builds upon that idea, "oinin! ith it to create a ne , fully developed idea. &hat development pro!resses from the (success,) throu!hout the poem to the (da$$l+in!,,) as each line adds yet another level to the previous one. -nly at the final line can the reader come to the full meanin!, havin! placed to!ether each line and its o n sin!ular idea in ith the entirety of

the poem. &he active thou!ht re'uired to come to the end of the poem fully supports the poem#s final messa!e. .inally, as the speaker arns a!ainst (every man +!oin!, blind,) should the truth not (da$$le !radually,) the reader can fully appreciate the final messa!e that truth is an active "ourney, havin! completed a mirror of that "ourney throu!h the poem#s lines. Alon! ith the en"ambment throu!hout the poem, the repeated references to mobile li!ht build up the poem#s messa!e. &he speaker refers to the truth (as li!htenin!,) and, later in the poem, to the fact that it must (da$$le !radually.) /i!ht, in this case a metaphorical representation of truth, also plays into the fact that truth is an active process, not one that can simply be stumbled upon. Each reference to li!ht is an active one, (li!htenin!,) for example, is not immobile, but a stunnin! (surprise,) one that moves from one point to another across the sky. 0imilarly, a da$$lin! li!ht is active, it is in constant !ro th until it reaches the final bri!htness that (da$$le+s,) its vie er. &he references to li!ht, then, also support the poem#s final meanin! of truth as an active process. 1ust as the li!ht depicted throu!hout the poem is active, so is the search for the truth. As the truth (da$$le+s, !radually) it !ro s in the searcher, "ust as a li!ht ill increase in bri!htness until it becomes da$$lin!. 1ust as that li!ht ill actively !ro until its bri!htest point, so the truth ill also become (bri!ht) as one !oes throu!h the process of searchin! for it, actively seekin! it out until it finally becomes reality. 1ust as a da$$lin! li!ht re'uires !ro th in order to rise to its full bri!htness, the truth also necessitates !ro th in order to become fully the truth, free of the (slant) that so easily creeps into it. .inally, the oxymoronic phrasin! used ithin the poem hi!hli!hts the necessity of actively searchin! for the truth. &he speaker declares that the truth must (da$$le !radually), a phrase that is inherently contradictory. &he ord da$$le comes ith the connotation of an

intense, sudden action, one that occurs 'uickly and leaves a brilliant reaction in its ake. &o (da$$le !radually,) then, is contradictory. 2y hi!hli!htin! that contradiction, and forcin! thou!ht re!ardin! hat such a contradiction truly means, the speaker then forces the reader to examine hat the truth really is. &hat examination eventually, leads to the final messa!e of the poem: truth as an active process. &he truth is, in and of itself, accordin! to the speaker, a nearly unfathomable idea. It is (too bri!ht for our infirm Deli!ht), somethin! that takes its finder by surprise. &his idea, fleshed out ithin the oxymoronic phrasin!, also demonstrates, then, the necessity of an active search for truth. As an idea that can easily overpo er anyone not prepared for it, as the (superb surprise) that comes ith the truth, only the active process of searchin! for the truth can prepare one for actually findin! it. &hat search is necessitated by the fact that, like an oxymoron, the truth is, at first !lance, somethin! that cannot be comprehended by the vie er, but first re'uires thou!ht and a search for its meanin! to be understood. &hat necessary "ourney underlines the poem#s messa!e. 0imilarly to the necessary thou!ht process to come to the final meanin! of an oxymoron, one can only come to the actual truth throu!h a process that is e'ually active, e'ually thou!h provokin!, and e'ually a preparation for hat the end result ill be. &he truth is an constant process, and can only be !rasped hen the searcher has been fully prepared for the surprise that comes ith the truth by searchin! for it. It cannot be expected passively, but only found and fully appreciated by someone ho has reali$ed its value, its mobility, and its meanin!. &hrou!hout Tell All the Truth but Tell it Slant, the obvious messa!e is one of truth% less obviously, ho ever, is the underlyin! messa!e of the truth as a process that must be undertaken in order to be appreciated and utili$ed. As the poem pro!resses, ho ever, the en"ambment of the

lines, the repeated references to mobile li!ht, and the oxymoronic phrasin! used to describe the truth brin! the reader to its final meanin! and, ith it, a reali$ation that truth is not simply one thin!, but a chan!in! entity that re'uires active !ro th in order to be fully !rasped. -nly havin! !rasped the process, havin! searched actively, can one be prepared enou!h to, not only find the truth but fully accept it.