Much Madness Is Divinest Sense
Much Madness Is Divinest Sense - context Summary
Composed 1862, Published 1890
Written in 1862 and first published posthumously in 1890 in Poems by Emily Dickinson, First Series, this short poem responds to social pressure and norms. Dickinson contrasts collective opinion with individual judgment, showing how majority assent defines "sanity" while dissent invites punishment. The poem reflects her own nonconformity and reclusive life amid strict expectations for women, suggesting that communal power, not objective truth, enforces conformity. Its compact paradoxes critique social authority and the mechanisms that marginalize dissenting voices.
Read Complete AnalysesMuch Madness is divinest Sense – To a discerning Eye – Much Sense – the starkest Madness – `Tis the Majority In this, as All, prevail – Assent – and you are sane – Demur – you`re straightaway dangerous – And handled with a Chain –
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