--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's a certain Slant of light, Winter…" description: "\"There's a certain Slant of light, Winter afternoons— That oppresses, like the Heft Of Cathedral Tunes— Heavenly Hurt, it gives us— We can find no scar,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14c/emily-dickinson-310_afternoon_there-s-a-certain-slant-of-light-winter_3122457.jpg" --- # There's a certain Slant of light, Winter afternoons— That… ![“There's a certain Slant of light, Winter afternoons— That oppresses, like the Heft Of Cathedral Tunes— Heavenly Hurt, it gives us— We can find no scar, But internal difference, Where the Meanings, are… When it comes, the Landscape listens— Shadows—hold their breath— When it goes, 'tis like the…” quote by Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14c/emily-dickinson-310_afternoon_there-s-a-certain-slant-of-light-winter_3122457.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14c/emily-dickinson-310_afternoon_there-s-a-certain-slant-of-light-winter_3122457.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14c/emily-dickinson-310_afternoon_there-s-a-certain-slant-of-light-winter_3122457.jpg) > “There's a certain Slant of light, Winter afternoons— That oppresses, like the Heft Of Cathedral Tunes— Heavenly Hurt, it gives us— We can find no scar, But internal difference, Where the Meanings, are… When it comes, the Landscape listens— Shadows—hold their breath— When it goes, 'tis like the Distance On the look of Death.” [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Light can feel oppressive like heavy music, yet it also reveals hidden meanings and emotional depth. **In simple terms:** Light can be heavy and revealing. Key Takeaway Notice how atmosphere shapes feeling. Themes art perception emotion Mood melancholic contemplative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - reading poetry - artistic creation - personal reflection Key Concepts symbolism existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What emotions does this imagery evoke? - How does light affect your mood? A Different Perspective Interpretation varies with personal experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breaths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaths/) [Cathedrals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cathedrals/) [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Heavenly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heavenly/) [Landscape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landscape/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Scar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scar/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) [Shadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadows/) [Winter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winter/) ## Related quotes > [There's a certain slant of light, On winter afternoons, That oppresses, like the weight Of cathedral tunes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/there-s-a-certain-slant-of-light-on-winter-afternoons-that-oppresses/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [When it comes, the Landscape listens - Shadows - hold their breath - When it goes, 'tis like the Distance On the look of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/when-it-comes-the-landscape-listens-shadows-hold-their-breath-when-it/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“Never since the beginning of the world has there been so little light. Our winter afternoons have been known at times to last a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-simic/never-since-the-beginning-of-the-world-has-there-been-so-little-light/) [Charles Simic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-simic/) > [If theory is the role of the architect, then such beautiful proofs are the role of the craftsman. Of course, as with the great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-atiyah/if-theory-is-the-role-of-the-architect-then-such-beautiful-proofs-are/) [Michael Atiyah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-atiyah/) > [“I believe that love is better than hate. And that there is more nobility in building a chicken coop than in destroying a cathedral.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-believe-that-love-is-better-than-hate-and-that-there-is-more/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Many men build as cathedrals are built-the part nearest the ground finished, but that part which soars toward heaven, the turrets and the spires,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/many-men-build-as-cathedrals-are-built-the-part-nearest-the-ground/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Most buildings, whether they're Gothic cathedrals or Romanesque ones, were high tech for their time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rogers/most-buildings-whether-they-re-gothic-cathedrals-or-romanesque-ones/) [Richard Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rogers/) > [Her father had taught her about hands. About a dog's paws. Whenever her father was alone with a dog in a house he would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/her-father-had-taught-her-about-hands-about-a-dog-s-paws-whenever-her/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [My icons do not raise up the blessed savior in elaborate cathedrals. They are constructed concentrations celebrating barren rooms. They bring a limited light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-flavin/my-icons-do-not-raise-up-the-blessed-savior-in-elaborate-cathedrals/) [Dan Flavin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-flavin/) > [You can’t bring an unwritten place to life without losing something substantial. Manila is the cradle, the graveyard, the memory. The Mecca, the Cathedral,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-syjuco/you-can-t-bring-an-unwritten-place-to-life-without-losing-something/) [Miguel Syjuco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-syjuco/) > [Nothing is more urgent than a serious, dare I say compassionate, debate as to where we are going at home and abroad. Technicians cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/nothing-is-more-urgent-than-a-serious-dare-i-say-compassionate-debate/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) > [The pursuit of peace resembles the building of a great cathedral. It is the work of a generation. In concept it requires a mater-architect;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-h-humphrey/the-pursuit-of-peace-resembles-the-building-of-a-great-cathedral-it/) [Hubert H. Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-h-humphrey/) > [We will live to see the day that St. Patrick's Cathedral is a child-care center and the pope is no longer a disgrace to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/we-will-live-to-see-the-day-that-st-patrick-s-cathedral-is-a-child/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Even if you tried to extinguish your personality, what is left in the story will reflect it, perhaps by its negation. Our lives provide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/even-if-you-tried-to-extinguish-your-personality-what-is-left-in-the/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [Universities are the cathedrals of the modern age. They shouldn't have to justify their existence by utilitarian criteria.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lodge/universities-are-the-cathedrals-of-the-modern-age-they-shouldn-t-have/) [David Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lodge/) ## More by Emily Dickinson > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [I could not prove the Years had feet-/Yet confident they run.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/i-could-not-prove-the-years-had-feet-yet-confident-they-run/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [How softly summer shuts, without the creaking of a door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/how-softly-summer-shuts-without-the-creaking-of-a-door/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“Could you tell me how to grow--or is it unconveyed--like Melody--or Witchcraft?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/could-you-tell-me-how-to-grow-or-is-it-unconveyed-like-melody-or/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [It might be lonelier Without the Loneliness - I’m so accustomed to my Fate - Perhaps the Other - Peace - Would interrupt the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/it-might-be-lonelier-without-the-loneliness-i-m-so-accustomed-to-my/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“Inebriate of Air — am I — And Debauchee of Dew — Reeling — thro endless summer days — From Inns of Molten Blue —”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/inebriate-of-air-am-i-and-debauchee-of-dew-reeling-thro-endless/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Luck is not chance, it's toil; fortune's expensive smile is earned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/luck-is-not-chance-it-s-toil-fortune-s-expensive-smile-is-earned/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [The abdication of Belief Makes the Behavior small- Better an ignis fatuus Than no illume at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/the-abdication-of-belief-makes-the-behavior-small-better-an-ignis/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Longing is like a seed that wrestles in the ground](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/longing-is-like-a-seed-that-wrestles-in-the-ground/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“He ate and drank the precious words, His spirit grew robust; He knew no more that he was poor, Nor that his frame was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/he-ate-and-drank-the-precious-words-his-spirit-grew-robust-he-knew-no/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [I SEE thee better in the dark, I do not need a light. The love of thee a prism be Excelling violet. I see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/i-see-thee-better-in-the-dark-i-do-not-need-a-light-the-love-of-thee/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [One step at a time is all it takes to get you there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/one-step-at-a-time-is-all-it-takes-to-get-you-there/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“Whose fingers string the stalactite- Who counts the Wampum of the night”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/whose-fingers-string-the-stalactite-who-counts-the-wampum-of-the-night/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [My life closed twice before its close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/my-life-closed-twice-before-its-close/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Until you have loved, you cannot become yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/until-you-have-loved-you-cannot-become-yourself/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) [Explore all 692 Emily Dickinson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) ## More Afternoon quotes > [I didn't grow up thinking of movies as film, or art, but as movies, something to do on a Saturday afternoon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-pollack/i-didn-t-grow-up-thinking-of-movies-as-film-or-art-but-as-movies/) [Sydney Pollack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-pollack/) > [My dental hygienist is cute. Every time I visit, I eat a whole package of Oreo cookies while waiting in the lobby. Sometimes she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/my-dental-hygienist-is-cute-every-time-i-visit-i-eat-a-whole-package/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Honestly, I'm living my fantasy. It's being with my family, preferably on a snowy afternoon with a fire going, cuddled up in blankets, playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meredith-vieira/honestly-i-m-living-my-fantasy-it-s-being-with-my-family-preferably/) [Meredith Vieira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meredith-vieira/) > [It was a very intense and stressful situation. There was playing in the Johnny-pump (an opened fire hydrant) and the ice-cream man coming around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/it-was-a-very-intense-and-stressful-situation-there-was-playing-in/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [Sunday afternoon is for papers and writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-haslam/sunday-afternoon-is-for-papers-and-writing/) [Nicholas Haslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-haslam/) > [I think that if most guys in America could somehow get their fave-rave poster girl in bed and have total license to do whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/i-think-that-if-most-guys-in-america-could-somehow-get-their-fave/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [“If you come at four in the afternoon, I'll begin to be happy by three.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-come-at-four-in-the-afternoon-i-ll-begin-to-be-happy-by-three/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [At five in the afternoon. It was exactly five in the afternoon. A boy brought the white sheet at five in the afternoon. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-five-in-the-afternoon-it-was-exactly-five-in-the-afternoon-a-boy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The shadows in the early morning don't tell much. The shadows rest at that time. So it's useless to gaze very early in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/the-shadows-in-the-early-morning-don-t-tell-much-the-shadows-rest-at/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [“I discovered windows one afternoon and after that, nothing was ever the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-spollen/i-discovered-windows-one-afternoon-and-after-that-nothing-was-ever/) [Anne Spollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-spollen/) > [Look, science is hard, it has a reputation of being hard, and the facts are, it is hard, and that's the result of 400…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/look-science-is-hard-it-has-a-reputation-of-being-hard-and-the-facts/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [What'll we do with ourselves this afternoon? And the day after that, and the next thirty years?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/what-ll-we-do-with-ourselves-this-afternoon-and-the-day-after-that/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Imagine you are walking down a leafy path…The sun is receding, and you are walking alone, caressed by the breezy light of the late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/imagine-you-are-walking-down-a-leafy-path-the-sun-is-receding-and-you/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [A good umpire is the umpire you don't even notice. He's there all afternoon but when the game is over, you don't even remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-johnson/a-good-umpire-is-the-umpire-you-don-t-even-notice-he-s-there-all/) Ban Johnson > [Sometimes in the afternoon sky the moon would pass white as a cloud, furtive, lusterless, like an actress who does not have to perform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/sometimes-in-the-afternoon-sky-the-moon-would-pass-white-as-a-cloud/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) Browse all 1,085 Afternoon quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There's a certain Slant of light, Winter afternoons— That oppresses, like the Heft Of Cathedral Tunes— Heavenly Hurt, it gives us— We can find no scar, But internal difference, Where the Meanings, are… When it comes, the Landscape listens— Shadows—hold their breath— When it goes, 'tis like the Distance On the look of Death.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Emily Dickinson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/there-s-a-certain-slant-of-light-winter-afternoons-that-oppresses/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Afternoon" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/there-s-a-certain-slant-of-light-winter-afternoons-that-oppresses/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14c/emily-dickinson-310_afternoon_there-s-a-certain-slant-of-light-winter_3122457.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14c/emily-dickinson-310_afternoon_there-s-a-certain-slant-of-light-winter_3122457.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14c/emily-dickinson-310_afternoon_there-s-a-certain-slant-of-light-winter_3122457.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There's a certain Slant of light, Winter afternoons— That oppresses, like the Heft Of Cathedral Tunes…” — Emily Dickinson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Emily Dickinson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There's a certain Slant of light,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/there-s-a-certain-slant-of-light-winter-afternoons-that-oppresses/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/there-s-a-certain-slant-of-light-winter-afternoons-that-oppresses/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```