Emily Dickinson

The Loneliness One Dare Not Sound

poem 777

The Loneliness One Dare Not Sound - meaning Summary

Loneliness Too Fearful to Inspect

Dickinson portrays a paralysis of self-awareness: a loneliness so dreaded that one avoids probing it, fearing it might dissolve the self. The poem presents isolation as an internal force that cannot be directly observed and is skirted in darkness, suspending consciousness. In the final stanza she calls this loneliness the maker of the soul, whose inner caverns may either illuminate inner life or seal it off, shaping identity by absence.

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The Loneliness One dare not sound And would as soon surmise As in its Grave go plumbing To ascertain the size The Loneliness whose worst alarm Is lest itself should see And perish from before itself For just a scrutiny The Horror not to be surveyed But skirted in the Dark With Consciousness suspended And Being under Lock I fear me this is Loneliness The Maker of the soul Its Caverns and its Corridors Illuminate or seal

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