A Man May Make a Remark

A Man May Make a Remark - context Summary

Composed 1864, Published 1914

Written in 1864 and first published posthumously in 1914 in the collection The Single Hound, this short lyric uses a concise causal image: a spoken remark can be the small provocation that ignites dormant potential. Dickinson frames speech as a careful act with moral and physical consequences, likening latent energy to "powder" already present in charcoal. The poem registers a wary awareness of words as catalysts and recommends measured deportment and discourse to avoid unintended ignition.