Collapsing of Boundaries in 'There's a Certain Slant of Light'

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In what way is this a poem the about the collapse of boundaries? Throughout ‘There’s a certain slant of light…’, Dickinson seems to reflect her internal struggles and experiences of pain given by an ambiguous source which she refers to as “it”. Dickinson has deliberately kept this cause of pain unclear – it is almost a way by which she is acknowledging the fact that this “it” is different for everyone and we interpret and deal with pain in different ways from one another. This is reflected in the line “None may teach it – Any –“, which suggests that we must learn this feeling of struggle by ourselves, and the “Meanings” lie within ourselves – they are internally interpreted and are different for each individual. Though the poem is written in quite a pessimistic tone, Dickinson somewhat suggests that this change is painful yet essential, showing a breaking of boundaries between what we need, and what breaks us. She describes it as giving “Heavenly Hurt, it gives us -”; this oxymoron suggests that there is a necessary pain we must all feel, it leaves “no scar”, but rather than causing physical damage, it causes a mental or spiritual change within us. Furthermore, the arrangements of the phrases are unusual - Dickinson uses a flipped syntax to emphasise on the confusion she is experiencing and a difficulty to put her feelings into perspective. The collapsing of boundaries is further explored with the use of synaesthesia – there is a constant blurring of the senses which reflects Dickinson’s inability to comprehend the pain she is going through – she can’t articulate the emotion and tries to help the reader understand what it’s like by mixing different feelings together. The “light” is one that “oppresses, like the Heft/Of Cathedral Tunes –“, it is a burden which is always present but she is struggling to carry. This could be a representation of the patriarchal

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