This is number 666 of my #DickinsonDaily posts (on Counter Social), so I thought I’d do something a bit devilish today – and yeah (for those who remember this), “the Devil made me do it.”
Did Dickinson ever use the word “Devil” in any of her poems? Yep – in two: “The Devil – had he fidelity” and “Crumbling is not an instant’s act.”
How about the word “Satan”? Yep – in one poem, “The Bible is an antique volume.
Did Dickinson ever use the word “Devil” in any of her poems? Yep – in two: “The Devil – had he fidelity” and “Crumbling is not an instant’s act.”
How about the word “Satan”? Yep – in one poem, “The Bible is an antique volume.
| I’ve posted that poem below & at the right – both as it appears in the Johnson & Franklin editions of her poetry and as it was altered in a note to her nephew, Edward (Ned) Dickinson. Click the images to enlarge.  |   |
I’ve posted that poem below – both as it appears in the Johnson & Franklin editions of her poetry and as it was altered in a note to her nephew, Edward (Ned) Dickinson.
| Click the images to enlarge.  |   |  |
In the case of the other poem, “Crumbling is not an instant’s act,” the archive makes it seem as though the word “devil” appears only in the Johnson edition and NOT the Franklin edition (which would not be unusual). However, when I looked up the word “crumbling” and found the poem in both editions, it turns out that the word “devil” is, indeed, included in the poem in the Franklin edition.
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So there you have it – the “devil” is in the details!
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