The Case of Jackson v. Franklin -- Part 3

On July 25 and 27 I posted blog entries about the similarities and differences of two “complete” volumes Emily Dickinson poetry, one edited by Thomas H. Johnson, and another edited by R. W. Franklin. I started this appraisal of the two books when I discovered that my copy of Johnson’s collection, published in 1955, did not include additional poems by Dickinson that had been discovered late in the twentieth century.

Of course the most discernible difference between the two volumes is the ordering and numbering system employed by the two editors (see my post dated 7/25). Other differences range from minor changes in spelling and punctuation to substantial modifications in structure, word choice, and complete lines and stanzas (due to the process each editor used in selecting alternate versions of Dickinson’s poems to publish).

I have to admit, as I was comparing the poems in the two books, I was even surprised to discover a subtle difference in two different versions of “After great pain, a formal feeling comes” (J 342 and F 374). See if you can spot it.

Here is the version in Johnson’s book :

After great pain, a formal feeling comes –
The Nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs –
The stiff Heart questions was it He, that bore,
And Yesterday, or Centuries before?

The Feet, mechanical, go round –
Of Ground, or Air, or Ought –
A Wooden way
Regardless grown,
A Quartz contentment, like a stone –

This is the Hour of Lead –
Remembered, if outlived,
As Freezing persons, recollect the Snow –
First – Chill – then Stupor – then the letting go –

Here is the poem as it appears in Franklin’s collection :

After great pain, a formal feeling comes –
The Nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs –
The stiff Heart questions ‘was it He, that bore,’
And ‘Yesterday, or Centuries before’?

The Feet, mechanical, go round –
A Wooden way
Of Ground, or Air, or Ought –
Regardless grown,
A Quartz contentment, like a stone –

This is the Hour of Lead –
Remembered, if outlived,
As Freezing persons, recollect the Snow –
First – Chill – then Stupor – then the letting go –


Franklin’s version of the poem, of course, added single quotation marks in the first stanza to indicate the stiff Heart’s questions: “was it He, that bore,” and “Yesterday, or Centuries before.” But other than that new punctuation, the poems are almost identical – except for one other interesting modification. Did you spot the altered line order in the second stanza? Which order do you prefer? Why?

Typically, both Johnson and Franklin included a single version of each poem. However, in a few cases, Johnson included a second adaptation. For example, he included two adaptations of “Safe in their Alabaster Chambers” (J 216), one from 1859 and the other from 1861. The poem from 1861 matches the one Franklin’s book (F 124), although Franklin has the poem dated 1859.

Johnson also included two variations of “Going to Him! Happy Letter!” (J 494). Both poems date from 1862, but only the first version appears in Franklin’s book (F 277) – and Franklin’s copy seems to have remained true to Dickinson’s spellings (for example “did’nt” versus “didn’t”; “was’nt” instead of “wasn’t”; and “Boddice” in place of “Bodice”) and structure (for example, “And begged to be ended –
What would it hinder – so – to say?” appears in two lines instead of the one line in Johnson’s version).

I’m not sure why Johnson decided to include two versions of some poems but not for most others. Why two renderings of J 216 and J 494 (mentioned above) but not J 217 (“Savior! I’ve no one else to tell”), J 311 (“It sifts from Leaden Sieves”), or others? However, whether comparing two versions from the Johnson text or by contrasting one version in Johnson to another in Franklin, I think these different adaptations offer teachers of writing and poetry a unique opportunity to have students explore the development and progression of the writing and artistic process. What mood is evoked through the use of one word versus another? How does the poet’s message change by shifting the placement of a word, a phrase or a sentence? What different direction does a poem’s meaning take with the use of one image or metaphor as opposed to another? Teachers can have students examine and explore these kinds of questions using Dickinson’s own variations. After all, it was Dickinson, herself, who said in J 412 / F 432:

I read my sentence – steadily –
Reviewed it with my eyes,
To see that I made no mistake
In it’s extremest clause –


Well, I’ve veered off track a bit from my discussion of poems found in Johnson’s collection compared to those in Franklin’s, and there is still one very perplexing mystery I’ve uncovered. I’ll try to wrap up my take on this topic next time and reveal that final riddle.