There's a certain slant of light,
On winter afternoons,
That oppresses, like the weight
Of cathedral tunes.
Heavenly hurt it gives us;
We can find no scar,
But internal difference
Where the meanings are.
None may teach it anything,
'T is the seal, despair, -
An imperial affliction
Sent us of the air.
When it comes, the landscape listens,
Shadows hold their breath;
When it goes, 't is like the distance
On the look of death.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Ernst Bacon (1898 - 1990), "Winter afternoons", published 1971 [ SA chorus and piano ], from Nature [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert F. Baksa (b. 1938), "There's a certain slant of light", published 1978 [ mezzo-soprano, piano ], from Emily Dickinson Songs, no. 12 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ronald A. Beckett , "Winter: There’s a certain slant of light", 2006 [ voice and piano ], from The Seasons: Four Poems of Emily Dickinson, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Sharon Davis (b. 1937), "There's a certain slant of light", published 1981 [ soprano and piano trio ], from Three Moods of Emily Dickinson [sung text not yet checked]
- by Peter Dickinson (b. 1934), "There's a certain slant of light", published 1974 [ AATTBB chorus and contrabass ], from cantata Winter Afternoons [sung text not yet checked]
- by Daniel Rogers Pinkham (1923 - 2006), "There's a certain slant of light", published 1974 [ medium voice and electronic tape ], from Safe in their Alabaster Chambers [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Pearson Thomas (b. 1957), "There's a certain slant of light", from At last, to be identified, no. 5 [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) (Bertram Kottmann) , no title, copyright © 2018, (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: 16
Word count: 75
Il y a un certain Angle de lumière,
Les Après-midi d'Hiver --
Qui oppresse, comme le Poids
D'Airs de Cathédrale --
Blessé par le Ciel, il nous donne --
Nous ne pouvons voir de cicatrice,
Mais une différence interne --
Où les Significations, sont --
Personne de peut lui apprendre -- Rien --
C'est le Sceau du Désespoir --
Une affliction impériale
Envoyée vers nous par l'Air --
Quand il arrive, le Paysage écoute --
Les Ombres -- retiennent leur souffle --
Quand il s'en va, c'est comme la Distance
Dans le regard de la Mort --