Tell all the truth but tell it slant

Dickinson uses the lyric form to drive “Tell all the truth but tell it slant.” Lyric poems originated in Ancient Greece and focus on the emotions and feelings of the speaker. Lyric poetry now includes elegies, odes, and sonnets. Rhyme and meter vary with each form. “Tell All the Truth” is eight lines, with variations of six and eight syllables per line, and has a “slant” rhyme scheme, or words that contain a slightly similar sound.

The Lyrical form in “Tell All the Truth” allows the speaker to address personal feelings and values in an accessible way; its song-like quality and iambic pentameter give a slight nursery rhyme feel. This allows the speaker to focus intently on a value (truth), without shaping it into any particular context. There is no backstory driving the speaker’s advice; instead, they describe their notion of truth (its importance) and how it should be conveyed to others. They grapple with truth and its possible negative ramifications. They also hold space for the argument that the greater good benefits from not receiving the full, unabridged truth. This falls in line with Dickinson’s readers at the time, who most likely were well-versed in the concepts and movements of Transcendentalism and