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Emily DickinsonA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
“Tell all the truth but tell it slant” approaches a universal question: Can adhering strictly to a rule cause the opposite result of the corresponding value? Beginning in Lines 1 and 2, Dickinson introduces the social value to tell all of the truth. She then challenges society’s emphasis on this value and advises the reader to take an alternate route—to mold the facts into something more palatable. For the reader to achieve this, they must first dismantle the value of telling the truth in full, or at the very least, consider whether this value should be followed to the letter on every occasion. The reader may also consider what kind of lies society already permits, such as white lies, or omission of certain facts when telling the truth. Dickinson goes as far as to say that even the most virtuous deed, with good results, can be overwhelming, as described in Line 3 as “infirm Delight.” Capitalizing the end-word “Delight,” in contrast to the end-word in Line 2 (“lies”), gives the more positive connotation more weight and focus. Even in one’s happiness, one must be careful in how one approaches it. This ironically points out the harm a social value can cause and causes the reader’s focus to turn introspectively and ask: when can doing “the right thing” cause more harm than good?
By Emily Dickinson
A Bird, came down the Walk
A Bird, came down the Walk
Emily Dickinson
A Clock stopped—
A Clock stopped—
Emily Dickinson
A narrow Fellow in the Grass (1096)
A narrow Fellow in the Grass (1096)
Emily Dickinson
Because I Could Not Stop for Death
Because I Could Not Stop for Death
Emily Dickinson
"Faith" is a fine invention
"Faith" is a fine invention
Emily Dickinson
Fame Is a Fickle Food (1702)
Fame Is a Fickle Food (1702)
Emily Dickinson
Hope is a strange invention
Hope is a strange invention
Emily Dickinson
"Hope" Is the Thing with Feathers
"Hope" Is the Thing with Feathers
Emily Dickinson
I Can Wade Grief
I Can Wade Grief
Emily Dickinson
I Felt a Cleaving in my Mind
I Felt a Cleaving in my Mind
Emily Dickinson
I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain
I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain
Emily Dickinson
If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking
If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking
Emily Dickinson
If I should die
If I should die
Emily Dickinson
If you were coming in the fall
If you were coming in the fall
Emily Dickinson
I heard a Fly buzz — when I died
I heard a Fly buzz — when I died
Emily Dickinson
I'm Nobody! Who Are You?
I'm Nobody! Who Are You?
Emily Dickinson
Much Madness is divinest Sense—
Much Madness is divinest Sense—
Emily Dickinson
Success Is Counted Sweetest
Success Is Counted Sweetest
Emily Dickinson
The Only News I Know
The Only News I Know
Emily Dickinson
There is no Frigate like a Book
There is no Frigate like a Book
Emily Dickinson