Here’s a full analysis of the poem ‘There’s a certain Slant of light’ by Emily Dickinson, tailored towards A-Level students but also suitable for those studying at any level. Enjoy and feel free to leave feedback if you found it useful!
Includes:
POEM
VOCABULARY
STORY / SUMMARY
SPE...
There's a certain Slant of light,
Winter Afternoons –
That oppresses, like the Heft
Of Cathedral Tunes –
Heavenly Hurt, it gives us –
We can find no scar,
But internal difference –
Where the Meanings, are –
None may teach it – Any –
'Tis the seal Despair –
An imperial affliction
Sent us of the Air –
When it comes, the Landscape listens –
Shadows – hold their breath –
When it goes, 'tis like the Distance
On the look of Death –
VOCABULARY
The slant of light - light falling at a particular angle
Oppress - to dominate or control something with the aim of creating hardship or
difficulty
Heft - the weight of something
Internal - inside, in this case inside the body
Despair - a feeling of sadness and stress that comes from a loss of hope
, STORY/SUMMARY
Stanza 1: There’s a certain angle of light that falls on Winter afternoons, that feels
oppressive, like the heavy weight of Cathedral music.
Stanza 2: It hurts in a spiritual, heavenly way - we find no scars from it outside our
body, but it makes an internal difference, where the meanings are within us
Stanza 3: No one can teach it to us - any of it - it is the seal of Despair upon our soul,
an imperial illness that is airborne and sent to us by the air.
Stanza 4: When this light comes, the landscape listens and falls silent, shadows hold
their breath, when it goes it is like the distance created between a living being and the
look of Death.
SPEAKER/VOICE
The speaker notices that light looks a particular way on Winter afternoons as it falls
across the world - onto the landscape. There is something spiritual about this light
as if it is heavenly, but also oppressive - it is similar to the heavy music heard in
Cathedrals, that seem to weigh upon the soul and infuse it with feelings of dread or
despair. The presence of the light creates silence, and when it leaves it leaves an
impression of Death upon those who witnessed it.
LANGUAGE DEVICES
Symbolism - the ‘Slant of Light’ likely represents the presence of the Divine within the
material world around us, in religious texts and literature light is often used in this way,
to symbolically refer to a higher power - often the Christian God. Yet in the poem, this
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