Another crazy Emily Dickinson poem. Seriously...you'd think we had read half of her anthology by now! :]
I like her though. I know I've said something similar to this in my earlier blogs, but her craziness is intriguing. At the same time, she drives me insane when I can't figure out what she is talking about. I'm just going to post the entire poem on here because it's not terribly long.
"Much madness is divinest sense
To such a discerning eye;
Much sense the starkest madness
'T is the majority
In this, as all, prevails.
Assent-- and you are sane.
Demur-- you're straightaway dangerous,
And handled with a Chain. "
Everything she writes has so much meaning but it really takes a lot of concentration to delve into it. The central theme in this poem is conformity is sane which is actually mad, so madness constitutes true sanity. Yeah, that doesn't exactly make sense when I read that back to myself, but after I keep reading it I can make sense of it. Talk about the ultimate paradox! This poem basically turns the meaning of the words sane and madness around from what we have always known. According to Dickinson, madness is best because nonconformity and madness go hand in hand. Dickinson was obviously a nonconformist and she seems to believe that conforming is completely insane, so the majority is wrong. I like her individualism and how she believes in the power to the minority. Maybe some poeple see her as crazy and depressed or something, but she gives us a great stance on thinking about life.
I like her though. I know I've said something similar to this in my earlier blogs, but her craziness is intriguing. At the same time, she drives me insane when I can't figure out what she is talking about. I'm just going to post the entire poem on here because it's not terribly long.
"Much madness is divinest sense
To such a discerning eye;
Much sense the starkest madness
'T is the majority
In this, as all, prevails.
Assent-- and you are sane.
Demur-- you're straightaway dangerous,
And handled with a Chain. "
Everything she writes has so much meaning but it really takes a lot of concentration to delve into it. The central theme in this poem is conformity is sane which is actually mad, so madness constitutes true sanity. Yeah, that doesn't exactly make sense when I read that back to myself, but after I keep reading it I can make sense of it. Talk about the ultimate paradox! This poem basically turns the meaning of the words sane and madness around from what we have always known. According to Dickinson, madness is best because nonconformity and madness go hand in hand. Dickinson was obviously a nonconformist and she seems to believe that conforming is completely insane, so the majority is wrong. I like her individualism and how she believes in the power to the minority. Maybe some poeple see her as crazy and depressed or something, but she gives us a great stance on thinking about life.
September 26, 2010 at 8:06 PM
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