Much Madness is divinest Sense by Emily Dickinson
Much Madness is divinest Sense -
To a discerning Eye -
`Tis the Majority
In this, as All, prevail -
Assent - and you are sane -
Demur - you`re straightaway dangerous -
LITERARY ANALYSIS
“Much Madness is divinest Sense” is a one stanza poem written by Emily Dickinson. The poem was likely written in 1862, but it was only published after Dickinson’s death in the 1890s. It is a very short poem which consists only of eight lines. The poem tackles issues such as conformity, norms, and sanity. Mainly in the poem, Dickinson questions the idea of status quo and conformity.
The poem tackles the paradox of what and who are considered ‘insane’ by society. Right from the first line, Dickinson claims that the things that people deemed crazy in society is actually the sanest one and what is considered normal is the crazy one. This reflects the idea that people pick and chose which things they considered proper, and which are not. The poet also claims that this happens because the majority said so. We can see this in the line ‘Tis the Majority in this, as all, prevail’ (4-5). Because of this, only those who are willing to look at the world objectively are the ones who will be able to see the truth. The first three lines might also be a reference to the situation in the United States at the 1860s. A major event that happened at the time is Civil War and because of this, many of the social values changed. A lot of minority groups, such as black people and women, started to voice their opinion on freedom. Before this, it was considered insane for these people to do so as they are not part of the majority.
On the flip side, the poem also acknowledges that being nonconformist may lead to a serious consequence. In the seventh and eighth line, Dickinson explains how those who goes against society will be considered a threat and might be ‘handled with a Chain’ (8). This explains why people follow the majority: they are scared to be punished and they want to survive. In real life, someone might be considered strange or even unacceptable if they do not follow the social norms. By contrasting the last two lines with the spirit of the previous lines, Dickinson realizes that there is a risk of not following the norm.
In conclusion, Emily Dickinson’s “Much Madness is divinest Sense” is a poem that challenges social norms and conformity. Through this poem, Dickinson shares her belief that the most insane thing might be the sanest thing and we cannot see it that way because we only follow the crowd, unwilling to form an independent opinion. Being able to do so, however, has a very big risk as those who refuse to conform to society might receive social punishment from the others.
REFERENCE
Dickinson, E., 2020. Much Madness is divinest Sense - (620). [online] Poetry Foundation. Available at: <https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/51612/much-madness-is-divinest-sense-620>.
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