I am struck by how Dickinson's patterning of generic vs. specific meanings
with her choice of determiner, including the omission of the determiner,
creates groupings within the poem such that *the majority *and *the starkest
madness* align together while *a discerning eye* and *a chain* seem to group
with *you*. Further, the omission of *the *and the dash accompanying it
before *starkest madness* would not only give the line a trochaic rhythm,
but it would also introduce a pronounced caesura after the first foot. It's
been a while since I've read Bruce Hayes and Margaret MacEachern's article
on folk poetry and ballad meter, but their discussion of how the implied
beat at the end of the three-foot line can function as a fourth foot
suggests to me that such a pronounced pause so early in the third line would
throw off the rhythm of the entire line.
All best,
Natalie
SUNY Fredonia
On Wed, Sep 7, 2011 at 8:41 AM, STAHLKE, HERBERT F <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Paul,****
>
> ** **
>
> I think you’re right, and I was considering that as I wrote. We
> underestimate even in our students’ writing the close integration of sound
> and sense in the creation of text. That said, I don’t think a poet of
> Dickinson’s caliber leaves out a definite article to make the meter work.
> Rather, as you suggest, the meter and the meaning come together in some
> remarkable way that remains a mystery to a mere academic prose writer like
> me.****
>
> ** **
>
> Herb****
>
> ** **
>
> *From:* Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:
> [log in to unmask]] *On Behalf Of *Paul E. Doniger
> *Sent:* Wednesday, September 07, 2011 6:29 AM
>
> *To:* [log in to unmask]
> *Subject:* Re: Poetry grammar question: Dickinson****
>
> ** **
>
> Herb,****
>
> ****
>
> Could you accept that form and content are so intertwined that neither one
> nor the other is a "driving force" by itself? It seems to me that they both
> drive each other. I really have a hard time separating meter from meaning
> (or vice versa) here.****
>
> ****
>
> Paul
> ****
>
> "If this were play'd upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable
> fiction" (_Twelfth Night_ 3.4.127-128). ****
>
> ** **
>
> ** **
> ------------------------------
>
> *From:* "STAHLKE, HERBERT F" <[log in to unmask]>
> *To:* [log in to unmask]
> *Sent:* Wed, September 7, 2011 12:08:02 AM
> *Subject:* Re: Poetry grammar question: Dickinson****
>
> Scott,****
>
> ****
>
> I’m going back to the complete poem, as below:****
>
> ****
>
> Much Madness is divinest Sense — ****
>
> To a discerning Eye — ****
>
> Much Sense — the starkest Madness — ****
>
> ’Tis the Majority ****
>
> In this, as All, prevail — ****
>
> Assent — and you are sane — ****
>
> Demur — you’re straightway dangerous — ****
>
> And handled with a Chain — ****
>
> ****
>
> “Much Madness” and “much sense” are both ambiguous, between “a lot of the
> madness/sense we observe” and “a high degree of madness/sense.” I think
> both readings work, and I rather like the ambiguity. The dashes add
> important grammatical information that your quotation left out, namely the
> parenthetical nature of “to a discerning eye” and the ellipsis of “is” in
> the third line. As to the use of the article, I think Dickinson is playing
> with generic vs. specific meanings. I suspect meaning rather than meter is
> the driving force in her choice, although I can’t speak with any authority
> about how the mind of a poetic genius works.****
>
> ****
>
> Herb****
>
> *From:* Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:
> [log in to unmask]] *On Behalf Of *Scott Woods
> *Sent:* Tuesday, September 06, 2011 2:33 PM
> *To:* [log in to unmask]
> *Subject:* Poetry grammar question: Dickinson****
>
> ****
>
> 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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