Notes: There's A Certain Slant Of Light Flashcards
There’s a certain Slant of light,
Winter Afternoons-
That oppresses, like the Heft
Of Cathedral Tunes-
Explain the metaphor present in the first stanza.
This is a striking simile which links winter light and church music with the heaviness of the soul.
What did Dickinson once state about the seasons?
That she felt the change/passing of the seasons like a hurt.
Explain the meaning of the quote in the third stanza.
An imperial affliction
Sent us of the Air-
This winter light is sent by a sovereign/imperial authority/god.
In the fourth stanza, the quote “When it comes, the Landscape listens-“ has a deeper meaning, what is it?
“When it comes, the Landscape listens-“ to the hurt that comes from heaven. The message is sinister. The light doesn’t lift the feeling of despair but leaves the feeling of one looking at/exploring the distance between the present and death.
What does the last dash of the poem represent?
The final dash represents the final death which we all must face alone.
What does the slanting sunlight communicate in general?
A sense of despair that puts the poet in a mood of depression
There’s a certain Slant of light,
Winter Afternoons-
That oppresses, like the Heft
Of Cathedral Tunes-
This stanza introduces us to the downcast mood and the sense of time weighing heavily due to the comparison of the light to the ‘heft of cathedral tunes’.
Heavenly Hurt, it gives us-
We can find no scar,
But internal difference,
Where the Meanings, are-
In this stanza, the poet considers the significance of the sunlight. The effects are negative and cause pain to the world.
Explain the oxymoron ‘heavenly hurt’
It contradicts itself. But the poem might be suggesting that if God breathed life into human beings, then God also created this sensation of despair, because with that life comes death.
This despair can be thought of as a mix of joy and fear.
None may teach it-Any-
‘Ti’s the seal Despair-
An imperial affliction
Sent us of the Air-
“None may teach it-Any-“:
The speaker goes on to emphasize the deeply personal and inescapable nature of this feeling, saying that “None may teach it”.
Life and death can not be escaped. Perhaps this is our tragic fate - our ‘Seal Despair’ from God as he gifted life and must take it away. Light does not exist without darkness.
When it comes, the Landscape listens-
Shadows-hold their breath-
When it goes, ‘tis like the Distance
On the look of Death-
“When it comes, the Landscape listens-
Shadows-hold their breath-“
This personification conveys a sense of nature being afraid of heaven’s decrees, they seem to be afraid. But when it leaves, it is like looking between the ‘distance’ between the present and death.
It seems clear that Dickinson is exploring the transition from life into enternity.
How is the sense of loneliness developed in the despair in the poem?
The use of “us” here and throughout the poem further implies that this despair is shared by all of humanity—indeed, it’s just part of being alive.
At the same time, however, it is only ever experienced individually, suggesting a sense of isolation and loneliness even within this broadly-felt emotion. Just as we all must experience death alone.
How is this poem ambiguous?
As the despair can be interpreted as death or as a sense of hopelessness.
