Tell all the Truth but tell it slant

 

 

“Tell all the Truth but tell it slant”

(Emily Dickinson)

 

"Tell all the truth but tell it slant —" muses/thinks on how to go about telling the truth, arguing that delivering truth too directly will only overwhelm the recipient. Instead, the speaker says, it's best to get at the truth in a sort of roundabout way, telling it gently or bit by bit, so as not to shock people with its "brilliance." Written by Emily Dickinson—one of America's greatest and most influential poets—the poem showcases her characteristically imaginative style, managing to express vast abstract ideas in brief, tightly constructed lines. Like nearly all of Dickinson's poems, it was not published until after her death, though it would have been written sometime between 1858-1865.

Theme

In this poem, the speaker muses on the best way to tell the truth. While the speaker believes that it’s important to tell “all the” truth, it also seems that the truth is too vast, bright, and brilliant to be taken in all at once. Whether that truth in question is related to religious enlightenment, the laws of nature, or something else entirely, the speaker believes that the truth must be arrived at slowly and indirectly—lest it totally overwhelm its audience.

To “tell it slant” here essentially means to put a spin on the truth, to approach it from an angle of sorts rather than head on. Broadening this idea, the speaker insists that success when it comes to sharing the truth can be found in “Circuit,” a word that indicates a kind of circular journey. Truth can't be grasped all at once, in other words; it takes repeatedly hovering around the edge of something to really understand it.

Why must the truth be approached this way? According to the speaker, it's because the truth is simply “too bright” on its own, too dazzling and surprising to stare at directly. Much like the sun, it's too radiant to behold all at once; doing so will make someone go "blind," metaphorically speaking. The speaker isn’t advocating for lying, but saying that the truth must be felt and glimpsed—rather than gaped at—in order for it to be fully understood and believed.

The actual truth that the speaker is talking about here is left ambiguous. On the one hand, the speaker might be alluding to religious (and specifically Christian) truth. The Bible frequently connects “light” and “truth” with God, and lightning is also often taken as symbolic of God’s power. Contrasted with the “infirm”—or weak, sickly—“Delight” of humanity, the bright truth in the poem might be taken as a reference to the strong, everlasting presence of God. The poem might be saying that it’s simply too much for feeble human beings to look at God and spiritual truth directly. Of course, the poem may simply be referencing truth and truth-telling more generally.

In any case, the speaker compares telling the truth to gently explaining lightning to children in a way that makes it seem less scary. The laws of nature are harsh, and the nature of the world isn’t always pretty; children need to know these things, but adults soften the truth to make it more palatable. The speaker seems to suggest that this is the role of the person who tells the truth—to deliver it in a way that doesn’t frighten the recipient.

Regardless of what this truth is, exactly, the speaker insists that it must “dazzle gradually.” In other words, a truth that is discovered in bits in pieces, or that is felt and intuited before it is understood, stands a better chance of being accepted than a truth that is delivered too bluntly. And the final line of the poem speaks to the danger of a truth arrived at too suddenly: the em dash ends the poem abruptly, mimicking the way a person might respond to a sudden, uneasy truth—by breaking off or turning away, no longer able or willing to engage.

The Nature of Poetry

The poem can be interpreted as an ars poetica, a poem that meditates on the art of poetry itself. The speaker’s instruction to “Tell all the truth but tell it slant” seems to capture something that poetry in particular is capable of doing: taking something old and familiar and making it new and fresh. That is, by giving an idea an unexpected "slant," poetry creates the “surprise” of seeing something beautiful or profound in the everyday.

The speaker’s assertion that “success in Circuit lies” implies that even if one wanted to deliver the truth all in one fell swoop, one couldn’t. Instead of just bluntly stating some profound fact, the speaker intimates that one must try again and again to arrive at truth. This requires poets to find new ways of looking at the familiar world. The poet’s job, then, isn’t just to tell the truth, but to tell it in ways that haven’t been told before—an idea that presents poetry as a process of constant innovation and discovery.

The idea that “success in Circuit lies” also subtly suggests that beauty exists in ordinary, routine occurrences. The word “circuit” invites readers to think about repetition, which is often seen as boring and mundane. And yet, the speaker upholds that a certain kind of “superb surprise” lurks within the truth. It is this sense of wonder and “surprise” that poetry is capable of unveiling through its unexpected and unique approach to language. The poet’s responsibility, then, is to reveal meaningful feelings or thoughts that readers don’t expect.

This process of arriving at surprising truths must happen “gradually.” Through this slow and patient approach, poetry can invite readers to really sit with things they might ordinarily have ignored or overlooked. Thus, poetry may open a reader’s eyes to the truth—whether that truth is something big and profound or just the ordinary beautiful world to which people quickly become accustomed. Poetry, the poem itself suggests, presents reality in a way that allows readers to see the extraordinary at the heart of the ordinary.

 

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in “Tell all the Truth but tell it Slant”

literary devices are very important elements of a literary text. They bring richness to the text and also make the readers understand the hidden meanings. Emily Dickinson has also made this poem superb by using figurative language. Here is the analysis of some literary devices used in this poem.

1.   Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line. For example, the sound of /i/ in “Success in Circuit lies”.

2.   Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession such as the sound of /t/ in “Tell all the truth but tell it slant”.

3.   Anaphora: It refers to the repetition of a word or expression in the first part of some verses. The words “the truth” is repeated in the poem to emphasize. For example,

“The Truth must dazzle” and “The Truth’s superb surprise.”

4.   Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example,

“The Truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind.”

5.   Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example, “Too bright for our infirm Delight” and “Or every man be blind.”

6.   Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects different in nature. For example, “As Lightning to the Children eased.” Here the truth is compared to lightning.

7.   Oxymoron: It is a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunctions. For example, “The Truth must dazzle gradually.” Here the dazzled gradually presents the powerful impact of truth.

8.   Symbolism: Symbolism is a use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by giving them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal meanings. Here, “truth” symbolizes fear.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “Tell all the Truth but tell it Slant”

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.

1.   Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. Here, both stanzas are quatrain.

2.   Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are only two stanzas in this poem, each having an equal number of verses.

Summary of Tell all the Truth but Tell it Slant

• Popularity of “Tell all the Truth but tell it Slant”: This poem was written by Emily Dickinson, a great American poet. Tell all the Truth but Tell it Slant is about the acceptance of the truth. It was first published in 1890 in her collection, Complete Poems. It speaks about the importance of truth in life. It also illustrates how we should tell the truth. According to the poet, the best way to reveal the truth is told according to the point of view of the listener.
• “Tell all the Truth but Tell it Slant” As a Representative of Human Nature: This poem is about the fragile nature of human beings. The poem begins with instruction. The speaker says that we should tell the truth, but not directly. We should say it subtly because human beings are not ready to accept the realities at first. They need time to accept the facts and act accordingly. Hence, the speaker suggests that the truth must be told in parts so that they can digest it easily. To her, human delight is not strong. They cannot tackle the hard blow of complete truth. To avoid shock, one must systematically convey the truth. As the poem continues, she compares truth with lightning, which frightens the children. In the same way, a complete truth can cast a negative impact on humans. The poet highlights the weak sides of human nature.
• Major Themes in “Tell all the Truth but tell it Slant”: Truth, acceptance and human nature are the central themes of this poem. The speaker beautifully highlights the weak sides of human nature. Throughout the poem, she tries to state that human beings are not strong to take some of the truths of life. The shock of complete truth can affect the normal pace of their lives. She argues that complete truth makes people blind, just like lightning dazzles small children. However, to lessen the effect of shock, the indirect presentation of it would be the best choice, unless one is ready to accept it fully. The speaker does not tell the reader to tell a lie, but instead to reveal the truth gently.

 

 

Analysis of Tell all the truth but tell it slant —

Lines 1-4 

Tell all the Truth but tell it slant —

Success in Circuit lies

Too bright for our infirm Delight

The Truth’s superb surprise

Dickinson begins this piece with an instruction. She informs her listener that they must “Tell all the truth,” neglecting nothing. But do so “slant.” This would mean that the truth would be delivered indirectly, or perhaps in a slightly misleading way. The word “Truth” is capitalized in this first line, a common technique employed by Dickinson. There is no clear reason for her capitalization choices, but perhaps in this instance, “Truth” is capitalized to give the word more agency than it would normally have. It has a mental and emotional power that goes beyond that of another word. It is also the main character around which the eight lines are centered and the capitalization makes it even more important. 

Rather than tell the truth in all its details, the speaker asks the reader to tell it in “Circuit.” One should jump around the truth, sharing bits and pieces of it without ever revealing the whole thing. She explains why this is the case in the next two lines. 

It is due to the truth’s light that one must be careful with what they share. But, it is not the truth’s fault. Human delight is “infirm” or weak. It cannot handle every element of, whatever one determines to be referenced by, the “Truth.” When it does come, it arrives as a shock. It is a “superb” or perfect, overwhelming “surprise.” This might sound like a good thing, but as the speaker mentioned before “Delight” is not very strong. One must be careful about what they share. 

Lines 5-8

As Lightning to the Children eased

With explanation kind

The Truth must dazzle gradually

Or every man be blind —

In the fifth line, the speaker uses a simile to compare “Lightning” that scares children to the truth shocking one’s system. When the lightning is explained to frightened kids they understand it. There is no longer the unruly speculation, taking one’s mind to strange and terrifying places. When one reveals the secret of the lightning, it’s just like telling the truth “slant.” They are softened in the same way. 

The reference to children, and their innocence, or weakness, relates back to the description of “Delight” as “infirm.” Humans are like children when they face the full truth. Rather than hearing everything at once it makes more sense to take it in “gradually,” bit by bit.

 This way it can “dazzle” in separate smaller parts. One can look upon truth and be dazzled without becoming fully blind. This is the warning the speaker leaves the reader within the last line. If one does not heed her warning then “every man” may become “blind.” It is likely Dickinson did not mean actual physical blindness. Rather she was speaking on an overwhelming emotional experience that blocks out everything else. One’s entire world could be altered by a specific truth.

 The final line ends with one of Dickinson’s characteristic dashes. This makes it seem as if the poem is not yet over, it continues on somewhere in the distance as if there is more “Truth” to be shared.