Tell all the truth but tell it slant

“Tell all the truth but tell it slant” approaches a universal question: Can adhering strictly to a rule cause the opposite result of the corresponding value? Beginning in Lines 1 and 2, Dickinson introduces the social value to tell all of the truth. She then challenges society’s emphasis on this value and advises the reader to take an alternate route—to mold the facts into something more palatable. For the reader to achieve this, they must first dismantle the value of telling the truth in full, or at the very least, consider whether this value should be followed to the letter on every occasion. The reader may also consider what kind of lies society already permits, such as white lies, or omission of certain facts when telling the truth. Dickinson goes as far as to say that even the most virtuous deed, with good results, can be overwhelming, as described in Line 3 as “infirm Delight.” Capitalizing the end-word “Delight,” in contrast to the end-word in Line 2 (“lies”), gives the more positive connotation more weight and focus. Even in one’s happiness, one must be careful in how one approaches it. This ironically points out the harm a social value can cause and causes the reader’s focus to turn introspectively and ask: when can doing “the right thing” cause more harm than good?