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Much madness is divinest sense To [a]1 discerning eye; Much sense the starkest madness. 'Tis the majority In this, as all, prevails. Assent, and you are sane, Demur, - you're straightaway dangerous, And handled with a chain.
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View text without footnotes1 Langert : "the"
Text Authorship:
- by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, appears in Poems of Emily Dickinson, first published 1890 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Robert F. Baksa (b. 1938), "Much madness is divinest sense", published 1977, from Emily Dickinson Songs, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by David Horowicz (b. 1960), "Much madness is divinest sense", 1988 [ soprano, viola, mandolin, guitar ], from Five songs on poems of Emily Dickinson, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Sergius Kagen (1909 - 1964), "Much madness is divinest sense", published 1956 [ voice, clarinet or chamber orchestra ], from The Mob Within the Heart [sung text not yet checked]
- by Leon Kirchner (b. 1919), "435", 1982 [ soprano and piano ], from The Twilight Stood, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Jules Langert (b. 1932), "Much madness is divinest sense", from Three Emily Dickinson Songs, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Harris Lindenfeld (b. 1945), no title [ soprano, e flat clarinet, and piano ], from 3 Dickinson Songs [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Walter A. Aue) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 37
Verrücktheit, höchster Götter Sinn - Für's Auge, das da späht - Viel Sinn - die ärgste Tollheit - S'ist die Majorität die hier, wie Allem, herrscht: Stimm' zu - dann liegst Du richtig - Sträub' dich - dann bist' Gefahr Und damit kettenpflichtig -
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Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2010 by Walter A. Aue, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Walter A. Aue. Contact: waue (AT) dal (DOT) ca
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Based on:
- a text in English by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, appears in Poems of Emily Dickinson, first published 1890
This text was added to the website: 2010-01-12
Line count: 8
Word count: 36