In order to contextualize the poem and its editorial journey, the basic meaning and message of the poem need to be closely read and analyzed. This will also serve to purpose the effects of the mechanical changes on each differing published version.
This first close-reading is done looking at the Franklin Variorum 1998 F795A original manuscript, originally published in Letters in 1894.
The poem clearly has religious and spiritual underpinnings, beginning with a mechanical separation but a conjunction in message between “Truth” and God.” Dickinson chose to place a hyphen directly after the first word, forcing the reader to pause and reflect on “Truth.” This choice serves to make the noun its own entity, not necessarily apart from God but not wholly dependent on Him either. “God” is also visually separated, being placed in the next line in this version, but this is most likely due to the space available on the original page; the other version in Dickinson’s handwriting contains this section of text as one line.
She then refers to “Truth” as God’s “Twin Identity.” This could either be joining the two objects in identity or separating them, implying a false identity, an appearance rather than moral depth of character. It should be noted, however, that Dickinson chose not to claim that they are one and the same, only of the same age and endurance.
She writes that Truth will “endure as long as He—A Co Eternity.” Here, she implies co-dependency, one’s life relying on the other’s survival and vice versa. Her use of the verb “endure” is particularly interesting because it suggests a struggle in survival, rather than just living effortlessly as one would think God is capable of doing.
On that note, a “Co Eternity” suggests an inability to die, immortality. However immediately following this line, she refers to the death of Truth, contradicting this theory. Strangely, the rest of the poem becomes ambiguous when referring to each subject. This ambiguity could be unintentional but most likely serves to confuse the reader between the two subjects, because they can be mistaken for one another so easily. “He is borne away” could be referring to God due to the masculine pronoun, as well as the personification.
“The Mansion of the Universe” could be referring to heaven, being the pinnacle of luxury and wealth in theory. One of the objects Dickinson refers to is being “borne away” from this heaven, allowing for the death of either himself of the other. This contradiction only adds to the ambiguity that Dickinson has provided here.
Finally, the last line of the piece is particularly intriguing in placement and structure. In the F795A manuscript, Dickinson reaches the end of the page after “Universe.” She then leaves an entire page blank on the paper she originally used, then wrote the last line, “A lifeless Deity.” This structure is peculiar because it was either a purposeful mechanical choice meant to force the reader to pause before reading and internalizing the last line, or a beautiful insight into the personal, poetic process of Dickinson.
She closes this piece with her signature, simply “Emily,” either ending a message or claiming ownership. This also allows us a small insight into Dickinson’s mind, further proving that poetry is not a black and white, cut and dry, linear process. Patterns in the process itself aren’t so easy to find.
