A Doubt If It Be Us
poem 859
A Doubt If It Be Us - meaning Summary
Relief Through Doubt
Dickinson presents doubt as a provisional aid for a mind in extreme anguish. Rather than defeating pain, uncertainty provides a temporary scaffold—an imagined or borrowed unreality—that steadies thought and makes continued life bearable. The poem treats this mirage not as deception but as mercy: a suspension that holds the living together long enough to find footing. The tone is quietly pragmatic and somber, suggesting psychological survival through adaptive illusion rather than clear resolution or doctrinal comfort.
Read Complete AnalysesA doubt if it be Us Assists the staggering Mind In an extremer Anguish Until it footing find. An Unreality is lent, A merciful Mirage That makes the living possible While it suspends the lives.
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