As Syllable from Sound
- Author
- Emily Dickinson
- Date
- c. 1862
- Language
- English
- Country
- Form
- Three quatrains in common meter, with slant rhyme and dashes
- First published
- Poems: Third Series, 1896
The source
The Brain — is wider than the Sky —
For — put them side by side —
The one the other will include
With ease — and You — beside —
The Brain is deeper than the sea —
For — hold them — Blue to Blue —
The one the other will absorb —
As Sponges — Buckets — do —
The Brain is just the weight of God —
For — Heft them — Pound for Pound —
And they will differ, if they do —
As Syllable from Sound —
Commentary
Dr. Ruxandra RouxHead of Literary Research & Development
Emily Dickinson, around 1862, her most productive year by count. Poem 632 in Johnson's numbering, 598 in Franklin's.
Three steps, each bigger than the last. The brain is wider than the sky. Then deeper than the sea. Then the punchline: the brain is the weight of God, and if it differs from God at all, it differs the way a syllable differs from sound. Notice the size of the claim and the smallness of the gap. She puts the human mind one syllable away from the divine and then, being Dickinson, stops talking.
Songs
The song made from As Syllable from Sound.
