There's A Certain Slant Of Light

The poem opens with the unknown speaker remarking on a ray of light they see. Their casual observation reflects the informal and personal nature of this poem. The short fragments suggest the speaker’s mind is wandering from topic to topic as they make connections, though those connections are not always clear to the reader. The first connection is clearer than others in the poem. The quality of the light makes the speaker comment that it is a winter afternoon, suggesting the light is not the strong, warm light of summer days. The harder break of a dash rather than a comma reflects the surprise of the next line. Rather than freeing or enlightening the speaker, the light “oppresses” (Line 3) the speaker. The speaker then compares this oppression to the “Heft / Of Cathedral Tunes” (Lines 3-4). While this image suggests the oppression has weight, the choice of the word “heft” also suggests an upward motion and an importance that the word “weight” does not.

The lack of full end stops, such as periods, makes grouping these lines into cohesive ideas challenging. This makes it difficult to be sure what pronouns like “it” are referring to. The reader is left to rely on the stanza breaks to help inform the meaning.

The first stanza ends with a dash, suggesting a stronger break in ideas than a comma but a stronger connection than a period. The H sound also connects the first and second stanzas with the repetition in “Heft” (Line 3) and “Heavenly Hurt” (Line 5). Light, therefore, is further connected to a religious experience.

The resulting “Heavenly Hurt” (Line 5) is oxymoronic, as the idea that a message from God could hurt seems contradictory. This contradictory quality carries throughout the stanza. This pain causes “no scar” (Line 6), but makes an “internal difference” (Line 7). This disparity between the external body and the internal soul is a keen interest of Dickinson’s poetry as a whole. Here, the speaker reflects on how “the Meanings” (Line 8) of the light are internal. Dickinson’s capitalization in this stanza supports this claim, as the words related to spirituality and internality are capitalized.

The third stanza reflects more specifically on those meanings. The speaker first comments that “None may teach it” (Line 9). This idea is followed by the single word “Any” (Line 9). The meaning of this word is unclear, as it could refer to both the meanings and possible teachers. The next line alludes to the Book of Revelations in the Bible. A “seal” (Line 10), or sign of despair, was both a visionary experience and an apocalyptic one, just as is suggested by the idea of “Heavenly Hurt” (Line 5). Yet the Bible says that a human is unable to break the seals, so the speaker’s solitary meditation on the meaning of the world gives Line 9 a different meaning, as no one could teach these messages to the speaker, and they may remain impenetrable until death.

The inability to understand these messages is underscored in the description of these messages as an “imperial affliction” (Line 11). The image of God as an emperor ruling over Earth from above suggests the speaker is unable to reject or question this message. The beam of light descends from the sky like a message from God that was “Sent us of the Air” (Line 12).

The final stanza considers the wider impact of the despair the speaker feels when they hear this message. The message in the light causes a noticeable change in the natural world. When the light appears, “the Landscape listens” and “Shadows — hold their breath” (Lines 13, 14). Giving the natural world human characteristics, the speaker reveals their isolation, as no human is around them when they experience this moment. While this light causes pain and discomfort, when it leaves the speaker feels “like the Distance / On the look of Death” (Lines 15-16). While the speaker despairs, the absence of this light and message still create an emptiness in the speaker, one she compares to death.

The capitalization of Death suggests Death is an active participant in this poem. In this way, the speaker may be saying death is looming but far off. By despairing, the speaker focuses on death rather than on heaven. The final dash of the poem suggests the speaker will continue in these mediations, as there is no full stop at the end of the poem.