The Full Text of “Much Madness is divinest Sense -”
1Much Madness is divinest Sense -
2To a discerning Eye -
3Much Sense - the starkest Madness -
4’Tis the Majority
5In this, as all, prevail -
6Assent - and you are sane -
7Demur - you’re straightway dangerous -
8And handled with a Chain -
-
“Much Madness is divinest Sense -” Introduction
-
Emily Dickinson's "Much Madness is divinest Sense" argues that many of the things people consider "madness" are actually perfectly sane —and that the reverse is also true: many of the things that people consider normal are, in fact, totally mad. People thus need to have a "discerning Eye"—that is, the ability to think clearly, fairly, and independently of the crowd. Society's norms, habits, and power structures are held in place mostly because they're agreed to by an unthinking "Majority" whose views, the poem implies, deserve to be challenged. The poem was likely written around 1862, but, like the vast majority of Dickinson's poetry, wasn't published until after her death.
-
-
“Much Madness is divinest Sense -” Summary
-
A lot of the things people consider crazy are actually completely rational—that is, if people are willing to look at the world objectively and independently. Similarly, much of what's considered normal and sensible is completely crazy. That's because the majority opinion always wins out. If you agree with society's norms, you're accepted into society and considered rational. But if you disagree with these norms, you're immediately seen as a threat—and chained up.
-
-
“Much Madness is divinest Sense -” Themes
-
Madness and Conformity
The speaker of "Much Madness" argues that the things that society considers irrational or "crazy" are often the most rational things of all. Likewise, plenty of supposedly sensible things are actually “mad.” Just because the social majority encourages people to act or think a certain way doesn’t mean that this way is sensible, intelligent, or truthful. In fact, some of the most genuine insight and understanding in life—that is, the "divinest Sense”—is appreciated only by those whom society condemns as “dangerously” mad.
Most people can't appreciate true "Sense," the poem suggests, because they’re too busy upholding the status quo. They go along with what everyone else thinks so as not to rock the boat; so long as they “assent,” or agree, with what society says is right/good/truthful/etc., then they’ll be accepted as “sane.”
Yet those with a “discerning Eye”—that is, those people who are able to look at the world with sharp, considered judgment—can see right through society’s idea of sanity. In fact, within their supposed “madness” lies “divinest sense”—the most sensible sense there is! The word “divinest” suggests that there’s even something holy or godly about this sense. Without questioning the status quo, it follows, people might miss out on the deepest, most enlightening truths of all.
The poem thus implores its readers not to take society’s ideas about "madness" and "sense"—what's right or wrong, good or bad—at face value, and instead to think for themselves. However, the poem acknowledges that questioning the status quo isn’t easy. While agreeing with the majority makes a person seem "sane," questioning the majority view even slightly (“demurring”) makes a person immediately seem "dangerous." And society has ways of controlling these "dangerous" people: it "handles" them with a "Chain." In other words, it restricts them, imprisons them, holds them back. Despite the speaker’s emphasis on challenging the majority's opinions, then, the poem also acknowledges how difficult doing so can be.
- See where this theme is active in the poem.
-
-
Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Much Madness is divinest Sense -”
-
Lines 1-2
Much Madness is divinest Sense -
To a discerning Eye -The poem opens with a paradox that makes a bold and intriguing statement: a lot of what is considered "madness" is, in fact, "divinest Sense." By opening in such a way, the poem immediately calls of both these polar opposite categories into question, asking the reader to re-examine the definitions of "madness" and "sense" (or insanity and sanity). The poem isn't necessarily focusing just on literal sanity and insanity in a clinical sense, but rather on what the "Majority" of people (as mentioned in line 4) think is normal. This is a poem about outsiders (like Dickinson herself) as much as it is about actual madness.
The alliterative /m/ in "Much Madness" establishes that there is a lot of what is considered madness out there in the world—but that, likewise, much of it is misunderstood. Not only is this "madness" frequently misunderstood, it's actually "divinest Sense." Here, sense means something like insight or forward-thinking. The "sense" possessed by some people who get mischaracterized as mad is sometimes the most profound thought of all. A good example might be a writer who is way ahead of their time, like Dickinson herself was. Though she is now considered one of the divinest—as in, best—poets of all time, she was misunderstood in her own day.
The word "divinest" also has connotations of godliness, suggesting that some of these instances of "madness" are actually revelations of the highest order. Note that Dickinson is far from the only poet to draw a link between so-called madness and visionary power—William Blake, William Wordsworth, and Samuel Coleridge all draw similar parallels particularly in their thoughts about poetry.
Line 2 helps put the first line into context. It states that the ability to look beyond received ideas of "madness" and "sense" depends upon a "discerning Eye." That is, it takes a certain kind of unflinching wisdom to look at the world clearly and question the status quo. This idea can be applied to numerous moments in human history, which is part of the poem's power. For example, those who pushed for the abolition of slavery had the ability to "discern" that it was morally wrong, and fought against the "majority" position. Likewise with the feminist movements of the 19th and 20th centuries. The "Eye" is not specifically about the visual sense; it is a metonymic way of referring to anyone who has the ability to tee the world afresh, and not believe things are a certain way just because that's what everybody else thinks.
-
Lines 3-5
Much Sense - the starkest Madness -
’Tis the Majority
In this, as all, prevail -
Unlock all 361 words of this analysis of Lines 3-5 of “Much Madness is divinest Sense -,” and get the Line-by-Line Analysis for every poem we cover.
Plus so much more...
Get LitCharts A+ -
Lines 6-7
Assent - and you are sane -
Demur - you’re straightway dangerous - -
Line 8
And handled with a Chain -
-
-
“Much Madness is divinest Sense -” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
-
Alliteration
For such a short poem, "Much Madness is divinest Sense" features quite a lot of alliteration. In the first two words, the alliterative /m/ sounds create a sense of "muchness." That is, by having the same starting letter in such close proximity ("Much Madness"), the line creates the sound of numerousness. There is a lot of "Madness," and in turn a lot of the so-called madness is actually "Sense." This alliteration is repeated in line 3, while line 4 offers yet another alliterative /m/ sound with the word "Majority." This chimes with "Madness," suggesting that it is the status quo that more often than not gets things wrong.
Across lines 1 and 2, the /d/ in "divinest" and "discerning" links the two concepts together. In essence, this suggests that having a "discerning Eye" that can accurately distinguish between "Madness" and "Sense" is closer to the "divine," which can be understood here as "truth." That is, the ability to discern—without slavishly following the status quo—brings people closer to truth, even if that truth goes against the grain of the "Majority."
In line 7, "demur" alliterates with "dangerous." This speaks to the way in which people who dare to question society and its norms are considered a threat. The link is balanced by the consonant /s/ and /n/ in line 6, which link "assent" with "sane."
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Consonance
Unlock all 400 words of this analysis of Consonance in “Much Madness is divinest Sense -,” and get the poetic device analyses for every poem we cover.
Plus so much more...
Get LitCharts A+ -
Caesura
-
Paradox
-
Metaphor
-
Synecdoche
-
Antimetabole
-
-
“Much Madness is divinest Sense -” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Divinest
- Discerning
- Starkest
- 'Tis
- Prevail
- Assent
- Demur
- Straightway
Divinest-
The most "divine." Divine can refer to God or godliness, implying that "Much Madness" is often a kind of spiritual insight. But divine can also mean, more widely, pleasing or delightful—the best.
- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
-
Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Much Madness is divinest Sense -”
-
Form
"Much Madness is divinest Sense" doesn't fall into any traditional poetic form or pattern. Broadly speaking, the first three lines state the poem's main premise: that much of "Madness" is "Sense," and vice versa. Lines 4 and 5 link this to the thinking and behavior of the "Majority"—the status quo. Lines 6-8 state the choices that face people in relation to the "Majority." Agreement means acceptance, while raising objection means restriction and restraint.
The poem makes frequent use of dashes—a characteristic element of Dickinson's poetry—to create a sense of abruptness and difficult thought. It's not an easy idea to process—that madness is sense, and sense madness—and the jerkiness of the poem's form helps to demonstrate this difficult thought—the kind required to have a "discerning Eye"—in action.
-
Meter
"Much Madness is divinest Sense" doesn't have a strict meter. It is, by and large, written in iambic tetrameter and trimeter, in that it can mostly be grouped into either four or three feet of unstressed-stressed syllables. Take a look at the first few lines, which, though not totally consistent, generally alternate between these two meters:
Much Mad- | ness is | divi- | nest Sense -
To a | discern | ing Eye -
Much Sense | - the stark- | est Mad | ness -
'Tis the | Major- | ity
In this, | as all,| prevail -There are clearly some substitutions here, some of which are more important than others. For example, line 3 has a feminine ending, with its extra unstressed syllable. More evocative, though, is the act that the first feet of lines 1 and 3 can potentially be thought of as spondees (feet consisting of two stressed syllables):
Much Mad
and
Much sense
The "Much" in each line is stressed by the reader, emphasizing the, well, "muchness." In other words, the meter here helps the poem's argument that a lot of what is madness is sense and vice versa.
Interesting metrical variations also pop up in lines 6 and 7:
Assent | - and you | are sane -
Demur | - you’re straight | way dan- | gerous -The first of these two lines is about agreeing with the status quo, and expectedly fits into perfect iambic trimeter. The next line is much more ambiguous, which seems apt considering this line is talking about rebelling against what other people think. We could scan it as iambic tetrameter, but that sounds pretty forced when read aloud. More naturally, stresses seem to fall on three syllables in a row with "straightway dan-," adding emphasis to this phrase about just how risky it is to speak up in society.
Perhaps it is the last line that feels most metrically regular, and this line not coincidentally helps introduce the idea of restriction or restraint:
And handled with a Chain -
The abrupt ending of the poem combined with the onset of metrical regularity makes it feel almost as if the text itself is being led away in chains.
-
Rhyme Scheme
The poem doesn't have a regular rhyme scheme. There is a slant rhyme between lines 2 and 4 with the words "Eye" and "Majority." This brings them together conceptually while at the same time establishing them as opposites. They both relate to ways of seeing the world—the "discerning Eye" looks at things independently, whereas the "Majority" just sees what it's told to see.
There is one full rhyme, which is between "sane" (line 6) and "Chain" (line 8). Again, this creates a sense of contrast, underlining the choice that faces people between "assenting" and "demurring" to the "Majority." The first word represents acceptance into the status quo, the second the consequences of rebelling. The full rhyme here also gives the poem a sense of closure.
-
-
“Much Madness is divinest Sense -” Speaker
-
The speaker in this poem is undefined. However, they clearly feel themselves to be at odds with general society—that is, with the "Majority." The speaker challenges the reader to rethink their own ideas of "Madness" and "Sense," perhaps implying that this is an issue that touches the speaker's life personally. If the speaker is read as Dickinson herself, for example, the poem becomes a kind of allegory for the way in which the literary world of her time wasn't ready for her daring and original poetry. Even beyond her writing, the poem resonates with the mythic shyness and solitude of Dickinson's life—her status quo-defying refusal to get married, for example.
In any case, the speaker aims to show two possible paths to the reader, and their consequences. "Assenting" to the "Majority" view means being accepted by society, while disagreeing with the "Majority" equals exile and mistreatment. In this, then, the speaker is issuing a kind of warning.
-
-
“Much Madness is divinest Sense -” Setting
-
"Much Madness is divinest Sense" is quite an abstract poem. It is a sequence of thoughts and statements, a kind of logical argument, and so doesn't depend on establishing a stable sense of place. In the widest sense, the poem is set in the speaker's mind because the poem's eight lines represent how the speaker perceives the world. There is a sense of isolation to the poem's setting, then, but this could also be to do with the back story of the poet herself. In its attempt to show the way the "Majority" imposes itself on individuals, the poem is also set, generally speaking, within human society.
-
-
Literary and Historical Context of “Much Madness is divinest Sense -”
Literary Context
Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) became one of the greatest and most influential of writers without publishing more than a handful of poems during her lifetime. After 1865, she rarely even left her family home in Amherst, Massachusetts. But her intense, philosophical poetry ranged far beyond the borders of that small world.
Dickinson's distinctive poetic voice combines down-to-earth forms (like her famous ballad stanzas) with startling, evocative word choices and profound insights into time, nature, and love. One of her favorite techniques, the use of an expectant em-dash to end lines, is on vivid display in "Much Madness is divinest Sense." Dickinson also wrote frequently about "madness" and mental distress, as in "I Felt a Funeral, in my Brain," "I Felt a Cleaving in my Mind," and "A Little Madness in the Spring."
This poem, like almost all of Dickinson's work, didn't see the light of day until after her death; Dickinson mostly eschewed publication, mistrusting its conformity and commercialism. But she was actively involved in the literary world around her: she admired Charlotte Brontë and William Wordsworth, met Ralph Waldo Emerson, and shared a general American Transcendentalist interest in the workings of the imagination and the power of nature.
Dickinson only became widely known posthumously, when her sister Lavinia discovered a cache of nearly 1,800 secret poems and brought them to publication with the help of a (sometimes combative) group of Dickinson's family and friends. It was a fortunate rescue: Dickinson's poetry would become some of the most influential and beloved in the world.
Historical Context
Emily Dickinson's passionate personality and volcanic intellect wouldn't have been too comfortable for many of the people around her in 19th-century rural Massachusetts. In that respectable, conventional time and place, women weren't expected to be geniuses.
And the 19th century in general was a pretty tough time to be a woman who wanted to write. Dickinson's hero Charlotte Brontë was only one of the great 19th-century women writers who published under a male pen name—and many of those writers, like George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) and George Sand (Amantine Dupin), are still better-known by their pseudonyms today.
As an unmarried woman living in the 19th century, Dickinson was denied much of the freedom and influence of her male counterparts. She was infamously reclusive, often communicating with friends through letters alone, and considered eccentric by neighbors. Her sense of isolation can be sensed in much of her work, including this poem.
Dickinson also wrote most of her poetry during the American Civil war, which ran from 1861 to 1865. She was firmly on the Union side of that bloody conflict; in one of her letters, she writes with delight about the ignominious defeat of Confederate president Jefferson Davis, who was reportedly trying to make his escape disguised in a woman's skirt when he was finally captured.
However, Dickinson rarely addressed the political world around her directly in her poetry, preferring either to write about her immediate surroundings or to take a much wider philosophical perspective.
-
More “Much Madness is divinest Sense -” Resources
-
External Resources
-
Other Poems by Dickinson — A link to numerous other Emily Dickinson poems.
-
On Playing Emily Dickinson — A clip in which actor Cynthia Nixon discusses playing Emily Dickinson in the film A Quiet Passion.
-
Educational Resources — Resources for students about Emily Dickinson provided by the Dickinson museum (which is situated in her old house).
-
Possible Inspiration from Emerson — An essay called "Self-Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson, in which he discusses the relationship between society and the individual.
-
How Society Treats the "Mad" — An interesting Paris Review article looking at the history of madness.
-
-
LitCharts on Other Poems by Emily Dickinson
-
