Only God—detect the Sorrow—
Only God—
The Jehovahs—are no Babblers—
Unto God—
God the Son—Confide it—
Still secure—
God the Spirit's Honor—
Just as sure—
—J626, F692, Fascicle 32, 1863
I can’t even begin to guess what prompted this poem. It appears to be a pretty straightforward poem about faith in the Trinity, but since Dickinson was rarely straightforward, especially not about religious matters, this one stands out. It tells us that only God can detect our sorrow. (Detect, according to the Dickinson Lexicon, can mean “know” as well as “discover”) Dickinson repeats for emphasis, “Only God”.
There is just one line here that is characteristically Dickinsonian. “The Jehovahs—are no Babblers—” To put God into a plural form by saying “The Jehovahs” is surprising. Wait, you think, why is there more than one Jehovah? But then you read the rest of the poem, which refers to God the Son and God the Spirit, and you realize that the Jehovahs are the three parts of the Trinity. “Jehovahs” sounds like a family name. There is something humorous sounding about the line. The tone changes from a straightforward hymn about the secret depths of sorrow to something that sounds a bit funny. (I hear it in a SitCom voice. “Come on, George! You can trust The Jehovahs, they’re not babblers!”) It’s also worth thinking about that word “babble”, since it etymologically derives from the Tower of Babel myth. I’m not sure what to do with that, except perhaps to say that the three Jehovahs speak in one unified tongue, which, in this poem, is rooted in compassionate listening.
“Unto God—/God the Son—Confide it—” This line I believe is a reference to Christ praying at Gethsemene. From Matthew 26: 38-39, "Then he said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me." And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will."
This poem has an unusual scansion. The lines are trochaic rather than the usual iambic, which gives it a singsong effect. In fact it is poems such as this that make me wonder if Dickinsonn didn't sometimes compose her poems to a melody which was going through her head. The tetrameter of the 1st and 3rd lines is followed up by dimeter of the 2nd and 4th, which gives the dimeters emphasis. Add to this that the dimeter in this poem is really one and a half feet, which leaves a little pause at the end of the line where the dimeter ends and allows the trochees to end on the the down beat. BUM ba BUM. The second stanza is nearly the same structure except lines 5 and 7 are trimeter instead of tetrameter. There is a uniquely trochaic 4242 3232 structure to this poem. The effect is a very strong emphasis on every other line. The dimeters in this poem are: Only God/ Unto God/ Still secure/ Just as sure. The strength of this trochaic rhythm and the perfect end rhymes underscore the “sure” and “secure” feeling.
I have a suspicion something else is going on with this poem that I’m not seeing, but perhaps it is what it appears to be, a reminder to confide in God rather than man. If this is so, why is the Trinity invoked? Are there other poems of Dickinson's that mention it? I remember one other poem, a very early one, in which Dickinson also invoked the Trinity,
In the name of the Bee –
And of the Butterfly –
And of the Breeze – Amen!
(See Susan Kornfeld's take on this poem.)
The Trinity in this later poem though (which names the Father, Son and Spirit) seems to be of a different order. If you have any ideas, please comment. I'd love to hear it.
-/)dam Wade l)eGraff
-/)dam Wade l)eGraff
I imagine the author of the poem is in great pain that nobody knows about. God perhaps detects her suffering but that is of no help. Emily’s secret is unfortunately safe with him. It reminds me of “The Hollows round His eager Eyes“ where we read about „Unobtrusive Pain“ that is
ReplyDelete„Endured, unhelped — unknown.“
Thank you for your work Susan - very insightful. Is there any collective biographical insight into what ED’s view of religion was? Some of her poems seem to show dissatisfaction with it, or even sarcasm (in the case of the poem you referenced here, or “Jehovahs” in the current poem). As you say, the current poem seems to be about suffering and God. Only God understands our suffering, and He (They) will never reveal it. But is that praise (confidence maintained) or criticism (no help offered)?
ReplyDeleteIn 1862, ED sent Variant A of ‘Title divine, is mine’ (F194)” to Sam Bowles with with the following message:
ReplyDelete“Here’s – what I had to ‘tell you’ – You will tell no other? Honor – is its own pawn – ”
Variant A reads:
“Title divine – is mine!
The Wife – without the Sign!
Acute Degree – conferred on me –
Empress of Calvary!
Royal – all but the Crown!
Betrothed – without the swoon
God sends us Women –
When you hold – Garnet to Garnet –
Gold – to Gold –
Born – Bridalled – Shrouded –
In a Day -
"My Husband" – women say –
Stroking the Melody –
Is this – the way?”
In 1865 she sent a toned-down version (Variant B) to Sue (See Susan K's Explication of F194).
ED thought she could trust Sam Bowles, but she was wrong.
Unfortunately, Bowles was unwell and harried when he received this poem and ignored ED’s imperative command “You will tell no other”. In a January 1863 letter to Austin, Sam let slip:
“to the Queen Recluse my especial sympathy—that she has “overcome the world in heaven—ask her; and are dandelions, asphodels, or Maiden’s vows the standard flowers of the ethereal?”
ED’s biographer, Habegger, tells the sad story:
“This irreverent treatment of Dickinson’s queenly withdrawal and obsession with heaven would not have upset someone with her keen humor, but there was an unforgettable shock in that emphatic—and public—“Maiden’s vows.” [E]arlier she had sent Bowles an ecstatic announcement of her excruciating “marriage”—“Title divine – is mine!/The Wife – without the Sign!” Insisting the matter be regarded as strictly confidential, she added, “You will tell no other? Honor – is its own pawn”.
Now, playing with her trust, he [Bowles] all but dangled the great secret in front of the brother whose sympathetic understanding she no longer took for granted. That scoffing “Maiden’s vows” carried the suggestion that her fervent and private attachment to Wadsworth was some sort of virgin fancy, a product of inexperience.”
“[T]he relationship had been irreparably damaged, · · · · initiating a twelve-year hiatus [1862-1874] in friendship.”
Habegger, Alfred. 2002. My Wars Are Laid Away in Books: The Life of Emily Dickinson (pp. 537-538).
After that breach of confidentiality, ED trusted no one to keep a secret except her dog, Carlo; her sister-in-law, Sue; her sister, Vinnie; and God, “In three persons, blessed Trinity”.
I still don't quite get the Trinity thing here, but, if your conjecture is correct, maybe she is using the parlance of Wadsworth to express her feelings of betrayal from Bowles "telling" to Austin?
DeleteED tried to hide her sorrow and depression from friends and family after Wadsworth “abandoned” her in May 1862. But we readers see it spilled out in poem after poem, including this one.
ReplyDelete