There's a certain slant of light
There's a certain slant of light
Original Text
Poems (1890-1896) by Emily Dickinson: A Facsimile Reproduction of the Original Volumes Issued in 1890, 1891, and 1896, with an Introduction by George Monteiro (Gainesville, Florida: Scholars' Facsimiles).
1There's a certain slant of light,
4Of cathedral tunes.
5Heavenly hurt it gives us;
6We can find no scar,
7But internal difference
8Where the meanings are.
10'Tis the seal, despair,--
11An imperial affliction
12Sent us of the air.
13When it comes, the landscape listens,
14Shadows hold their breath;
15When it goes, 'tis like the distance
16On the look of death.
Notes
2] The existing manuscript version of poem 258 reads just "Winter afternoons" (The Manuscript Books of Emily Dickinson, edited by R. W. Franklin in two volumes (Cambridge, Mass., and London: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1981: I, 270; fascicle 13; PS 1541 A1 1981 ROBA). Back to Line
3] weight: solemnity, "weightiness" (the existing manuscript version reads "heft") Back to Line
9] anything: the existing manuscript version reads "any" Back to Line
Publication Start Year
1890
RPO poem Editors
Ian Lancashire
RPO Edition
RPO 1997.
Rhyme