Tell All the Truth

Tell All the Truth - fact Summary

First Printed in 1891

This poem was first published posthumously in 1891 in Poems by Emily Dickinson, Second Series. That publication helped shape Dickinson's reputation by presenting concise, enigmatic lyrics to a Victorian readership. Knowing its posthumous appearance explains why the poem circulated initially in edited forms and why readers encountered her elliptical punctuation and phrasing through an editor’s lens. The poem itself advocates revealing truth indirectly, an idea that resonated with late-19th-century sensibilities about decorum and readers’ moral readiness for candid statements.