Emily Dickinson Poetry Online

So much of the world's greatest literature is only a Google search away, especially if the work is old enough to have fallen into the public domain.
I love Emily Dickinson's poetry. It is often ambiguous and sometimes even confusing, but I like that. Her poetry sparked fun debates in English class. Is she speaking metaphorically or literally or both? What is she talking about really? I suppose only the poet herself could have told us.

You can find a list of her complete works by clicking here:

Bartleby.com

I chose this poem because I like what she has to say about the lure of conformity and how the non-conformists among us may be the bravest of all.


Part One: Life

XI

MUCH madness is divinest sense
To a discerning eye;
Much sense the starkest madness.
’T is the majority
In this, as all, prevails. 5
Assent, and you are sane;
Demur,—you ’re straightway dangerous,
And handled with a chain.