Much Madness is divinest Sense—

“Much Madness is divinest Sense” qualifies as a lyric, as lyrics are short poems that express personal feelings. In Emily Dickinson’s poem, her speaker expresses their feelings on “Madness” Versus Sense, Conformity Versus Singularity, and The Right to Punish—all of which are key themes. The poem also has the qualities of a riddle-like paradox, as the tricky diction (word use) appears to contradict itself and suggests that what is “mad” is sensible and what is sensible is “mad.” As the poem instructs the reader about “madness” and sense and intends to impart a lesson, it’s a didactic poem as well. The speaker dictates their beliefs about how people gauge rational and seemingly irrational behavior: Communities create definitions for the words “mad” and “sane” not by any objective measure but by majority rule, which, according to the speaker, is liable to creating a culture where those outside of majority opinion are demonized and punished.

Though people commonly refer to Dickinson as the speaker of her poems, it’s not necessary to call Dickinson the speaker to understand the poem. The reader doesn’t have to know a great deal about Dickinson’s background or bond Dickinson to the poem to assess its meaning.