Week 8 Analysis: Literary Analysis of "1129" by Emily Dickinson

I chose to analyze poem 1129 by Emily Dickinson because so far it's my favorite piece of writing that we've read this semester. The poem begins with a line that uses consonance. "Tell all the truth but tell it slant--" (489). It's consonance because of the way it repeats the "T" and "L" sounds: Tell all the truth but tell it slant. The way this line is written causes it to sound almost like a tongue twister when read aloud. I also felt like the the line complements the message she's sharing with this poem. To read a line as entertaining as this one creates a feeling similar to that of a nursery rhyme that uses an A and B rhyme scheme, allowing for consistent moments of entertaining sounds and words. The reason I say the playfulness of this line's sounds complement her message is because of how she mentions the way that adults and religions teach kids about death. They try to make death not so terrifying in their eyes as a means of maintaining their innocence and allowing them to have fun and be kids without having to worry about getting killed or feeling so torn up about the deaths of others. Heaven, reincarnation, and other similar ideas give people a sense of comfort and security when the subject of death comes about. Dying isn't so bad when you can find solace in the belief that your death will at least allow you an afterlife full of joy and peace or an opportunity to live another life. These beliefs aren't bad at all and there are nothing wrong with them. I'm a Christian and I believe in heaven, but Emily Dickinson does bring up a great point and it's something that people choose to find bliss in ignoring. "The Truth's superb surprise" is that death is nothing more than an end and Emily Dickinson claims that "The Truth must dazzle gradually / Or every man be blind" (489). People don't like to accept the idea that their lives end when they die and it's because of this that it's so easy for everyone to instead accept the idea that there's something more after death. I believe that Emily Dickinson placed a lot of her life experiences and her religion into this poem and a lot of her other poems. In the biography provided in our anthologies, Emily Dickinson said "Christ is calling everyone here" "and I am standing alone in rebellion" (481). She states clearly that she feels isolated in her criticisms and doubts about her religious faith. To me, this is evidence that she is indeed criticizing views of death in poem 1129 and wanted to get her ideas on paper because she felt alone in her beliefs.



Dickinson, Emily. "1129." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. D, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 489