Emily Dickinson Slant Scheme

Emily Dickinson is widely respected for her unique use of short stanzas and slant rhymes. She preserved with her unorthodox methods to complete various poems, including her piece “I dwell in Possibility.” In this poem, Dickinson employs her usual tools to express the superiority of poetry over prose. Critic Ben Lerner falsely criticizes Dickinson's unique structure in this particular poem by choosing to focus on an insignificant rhyme scheme and pronunciation instead of embracing the freedom of poetry that she communicates in her work. Lerner essentially states that the rhyme schemes in this poem are in constant tension and thus force him to choose between two ultimatums. Unlike traditional rhymes, which are clear to notice and hear, Dickinson

This calculated shift from order to disorder signifies the broader meaning of the poem, one that includes the power of poetry to challenge the imagination of the reader by focusing on unusual patterns. Certain variations, similar to Dickinson’s use of dashes and a slant rhyme, prevent the reader from anticipating the expected metrical form of poetry and instead force an ambiguous state, which in return allows the reader to ponder the author’s purpose with the specific poem. Additionally, the use of a slant rhyme increases Dickinson’s ability to convey the very crux of what she intends since she will not be restrained by a specific set of rhyming words that might sound clearer and are easier to notice, but cannot correctly explain her position. Lerner is worried about the pronunciation of “Paradise” in order to match it with “This,” but misses the grander subject of the poem. If Dickinson had used a perfect set of rhyming words instead, the essence of the poem would be lost. Furthermore, Lerner appreciates the poem’s dramatization of the “impossibility of gathering paradise” though poetry, but that message would not be as strong without the slant rhyme involving “This” and “Paradise.” Dickinson uses the word “This” specifically to emphasize her occupation as a writer in line ten when she states “For Occupation-This-” This line with it’s added emphasis perfectly sets up the