Not That We Did, Shall Be the Test

Not That We Did, Shall Be the Test - meaning Summary

Judgment of Intention

The poem argues that moral judgment won’t rest solely on what we actually did or intended in concrete acts. Instead, ultimate evaluation hinges on what God would infer we would have done had we been more spiritually discerning or "diviner." Dickinson presents a standard of inward moral potential: divine assessment privileges hypothetical character and the perfected will over outward deeds or present intentions.