ack at the end of October (HERE), I shared Dickinson’s poem “None can experience stint,” and when I delved into that poem, I came across two odd finds.
The first “odd find” was a translation of the poem into Dutch, HERE. The site seems to include most if not all of Dickinson’s poems – each one in English and in Dutch – with lots of other info too, all of it in Dutch.
In the chart below, I have the poem as written by Dickinson, the same poem as translated into Dutch, and then the Dutch version translated back into English. Of course, I don’t speak Dutch, but based on that re-translation back to English, I believe a Dutch speaker would get the gist of the poem.
The first “odd find” was a translation of the poem into Dutch, HERE. The site seems to include most if not all of Dickinson’s poems – each one in English and in Dutch – with lots of other info too, all of it in Dutch.
In the chart below, I have the poem as written by Dickinson, the same poem as translated into Dutch, and then the Dutch version translated back into English. Of course, I don’t speak Dutch, but based on that re-translation back to English, I believe a Dutch speaker would get the gist of the poem.
The second odd bit related to this poem involves sites which erroneously present the poem as “None can experience STING” – instead of STINT – which then generates confusion for Google’s “AI Overview.”
Dickinson used the word “stint” in six different poems, but not in the sense that I suspect most people use the word today, as a short period of time (as in, “my varied career included a stint as a magician”). No, Dickinson used the word, as a noun, to mean some sort of limitation or paucity, or as a verb, to mean restrain or confine.
Obviously, in how “stint” is spelled, the word is similar to “sting,”and I can even imagine an accomplished cruciverbalist crafting a crossword puzzle clue for a five letter word where a puzzler might put “STING” for “STINT.” However, I’m not sure how the “stint”/”sting” confusion came about in the first place, because every edition of Dickinson’s poems I’ve checked has the word “stint.” The problem seems to be online.
One of the sites adding to the confusion is AllPoetry.com. I sent them a message to correct the issue, but so far, no response. On their site, the poem still reads “None can experience STING.”
Obviously, in how “stint” is spelled, the word is similar to “sting,”and I can even imagine an accomplished cruciverbalist crafting a crossword puzzle clue for a five letter word where a puzzler might put “STING” for “STINT.” However, I’m not sure how the “stint”/”sting” confusion came about in the first place, because every edition of Dickinson’s poems I’ve checked has the word “stint.” The problem seems to be online.
One of the sites adding to the confusion is AllPoetry.com. I sent them a message to correct the issue, but so far, no response. On their site, the poem still reads “None can experience STING.”
Interestingly, I’ve contacted them before about a different error in need of correction, and it was updated within twenty-four hours. That issue involved the third line of “My River runs to thee.” They had “My River WAIT reply.” I sent a communication to say that “wait” was missing the “s” needed with the third-person singular “River,” and the “s” was added by the end of the day.
AllPoetry.com is not the only site, though. The confusion with “sting” for “stint” seems to be widespread. See below.
I suppose I can contact each site to alert them of the error to see if, one by one, I can get this “sting” thing corrected. Or, I suppose I can just let things bee.\
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