Much Madness is divinest Sense

Much Madness is divinest Sense by Emily Dickinson

Once again, of course Emily Dickinson is writing about madness. In this case, I believe this very confusing poem is talking about the discrepancies between one person's idea of reality and another's. She writes of how madness can be taken as sensible and how very sensible could be taken as "the starkest Madness" (Dickinson 830). It explains that our own madness, can never be ascertained by us or by a single person, but by the majority. For it states that those who agree with you, say you are sane, and those who doubt you, say, "you're straightway dangerous" (Dickinson 830). It is condemning society for our accusative and sure-of-ourselves nature. Who are we to discern whether one is sane or insane. How do we know that we are not the insane ones. The whole basis on one's sanity is just based off of how we differ from the rest of the crowd. Then can we truly call an insane person sane? These are questions that Emily Dickinson raises in this poem. They are truly philosophical.