In her fourth letter to Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Emily Dickinson enclosed four poems, one of which was “Of Tribulation – these are they.” In that poem, Dickinson spelled the word “ankle” with a “c” – “ancle” – but on the very paper on which she wrote the poem, she also added a note, “I spelled ankle wrong.” Obviously, she knew how to spell “ankle,” so why would she spell it – quite purposely – with a “c”? That story is HERE.
| I mention that story because Dickinson also purposely misused the contraction “don’t” in a couple of poems although she knew how to use “don’t” and “doesn’t” properly. What was she up to? Yesterday I noted that the poet used the contraction “doesn’t” in three different poems, and she used it correctly according to the standard rules of English each time. The word “don’t” appears in eight different poems, and she used the contraction correctly in six of the poems – but not in the other two, “If anybody’s friend be dead” (which I posted yesterday) and “This world is not conclusion” (which, by the way, is the next poem in my assemblage of “Top Ten poems about death and grief” I’ve been posting). NOTE: AN IMPORTANT UPDATE ABOUT "DON'T" & "DOESN'T" IS HERE. Take a look at line 6 – did Dickinson use “don’t” properly or not? If and not, to what end? |  |
Dickinson could have very easily written “doesn’t,” but then that would not have fit the rhythm of the poem. All of the even numbered lines contain six syllables, so “don’t” fits the rhythm of the poem, “doesn’t” does not.
In 1896, when Mabel Loomis Todd published more of Dickinson’s poetry (the first edition came out in 1890), she solved this issue by changing the word “philosophy” to its plural version – which has the same number of syllables – and so the line reads like this:
“Philosophies don’t know.”
Johnson’s 1955 edition of Dickinson’s complete poems shows the line as this:
“Philosophy – don’t know –”
However, the Franklin and Miller editions of Dickinson’s poetry show the line like this:
“Philosophy, don’t know.”
Hmm…couldn’t that be considered a correct usage of the contraction “don’t”?
For example, what if I were to ask someone, “Which of the following are real sciences: astrology, alchemy and Feng Shui,” and the person were to respond, “Astrology and alchemy are fake, but Feng Shui,” followed by a pause, “don’t know.” It would be written as, “Feng Shui, don’t know.” The “I” is implied.
In the poem was Dickinson saying “Philosophy, (I) don’t know” – OR – was she saying “Philosophy doesn’t know” – BUT – she added extra, striking emphasis by using “don’t” instead of “doesn’t” – the way a person might use a double negative to slap on extra intensity?
Thoughts?
In 1896, when Mabel Loomis Todd published more of Dickinson’s poetry (the first edition came out in 1890), she solved this issue by changing the word “philosophy” to its plural version – which has the same number of syllables – and so the line reads like this:
“Philosophies don’t know.”
Johnson’s 1955 edition of Dickinson’s complete poems shows the line as this:
“Philosophy – don’t know –”
However, the Franklin and Miller editions of Dickinson’s poetry show the line like this:
“Philosophy, don’t know.”
Hmm…couldn’t that be considered a correct usage of the contraction “don’t”?
For example, what if I were to ask someone, “Which of the following are real sciences: astrology, alchemy and Feng Shui,” and the person were to respond, “Astrology and alchemy are fake, but Feng Shui,” followed by a pause, “don’t know.” It would be written as, “Feng Shui, don’t know.” The “I” is implied.
In the poem was Dickinson saying “Philosophy, (I) don’t know” – OR – was she saying “Philosophy doesn’t know” – BUT – she added extra, striking emphasis by using “don’t” instead of “doesn’t” – the way a person might use a double negative to slap on extra intensity?
Thoughts?
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