In my humble opinion, perhaps Dickinson left the article "the" off of "divinest" for the rhythm and meter of the poem. The iambic pentameter would be disturbed by inserting the article. Also, it would make that line 9 syllables in contrast to the 8 it presently carries which align nicely with the 7 syllables in /Much sense the starkest madness/
 
Carol

--- On Tue, 9/6/11, Scott Woods <[log in to unmask]> wrote:


From: Scott Woods <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Poetry grammar question: Dickinson
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Tuesday, September 6, 2011, 2:33 PM




Dear List,
Consider these lines from Dickinson: Much madness is divinest sense/ To a discerning eye;/ Much sense the starkest madness.
Why is there no "the" in front of "divinest sense" and why is there a "the" in front of "starkest madness"? It sounds wrong to my ear to say "Much madness is the divinest sense," and it sounds off to say "much sense starkest madness," but I don't know why this is. What is the rule I'm missing? 

Thanks,

Scott Woods
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