Emily Dickinson's poem "What Soft- Cherubic Creatures-" is a poem that deals with the universal concept of hypocrisy; that is to say, one tends to show one face to the world which is merely a facade to hide the inner passions one has towards the outer world. Though Dickinson does not come right out and blatantly accuse us for being hypocrites, it is the diction and literary style in this poem that she employs that extenuates her ideas; "What Soft- Cherubic Creatures-/ These Gentlewomen are-/ One would as soon assault a Plush-/ Or violate a Star" (1-4). My interpretation of the preceding quatrain is that the 'soft cherubic characters' is in reference to those of us whom expel to the people around us some divine and angelic behavior, all the while hiding their true desires within. They're inner feelings such as those expressed in "On

In the third and final quatrain, Dickinson reveals the universality of the horror of hypocrisy; "It's such a common-Glory-/ A Fisherman's-Degree-/ Redemption-Brittle Lady-/ Be so- ashamed of Thee-" (9-12). "It's such a common-Glory" (9), reveals that although we like to believe that this 'problem' may be situated among a small group of people, Dickinson rather extenuates in this last quatrain that it is universal and 'common'. The final line of the poem "Be so-ashamed of Thee-" (12), makes on wonder if he or she truly is tied to his or her convictions, and if so, wouldn't one not allow his or herself to go astray from his beliefs?

Emily Dickinson's poem " What Soft- Cherubic Creatures", is about the universality of hypocrisy. Hypocrisy in society is deemed unacceptable and quite offensive to those who are found to practice it, yet all the while if we just look closer a

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 606
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)