I am reading the first two lines to mean something like "Quite a bit of what
looks like madness really makes the most sense, if you think about it." An
addition of "the" would seem to make madness one of the senses, the
"divinest" one, or might suggest that the best mental condition is to be
quite mad.

Conversely, quite a bit of what appears to be sensible is really the most
extreme madness. The "is" is missing in the last line but is elliptical,
supplied from the first line.

While an analysis of meter is often useful, here it is more a matter of the
meaning of the words than the rhythm of the words.

Don Stewart
www.writeforcollege.com
www.writing123.com




On Tue, Sep 6, 2011 at 2:33 PM, Scott Woods <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> 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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