Ultimately

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Ultimately

by Ernest Hemingway

He tried to spit out the truth;
Dry mouthed at first,
He drooled and slobbed in the end;
Truth dribbling his chin.

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This four line poem is written in free verse and has a rhyme scheme of ABCC. As the poem is so short, there is only a little bit to take note of regarding technique. He utilizes alliteration (tried/truth and dry/droolled/dribbling).

Substantively, the poem is about an unnamed man who attempts to “spit out” the truth. The use of this language implies that truth is either no longer wanted in his mouth, or more likely that it’s unfamiliar. He needs to get it out quickly if possible.

In line 2, though, we see that he is unable to get the truth out because he is dry-mouthed. Therefore, in the metaphor, “dry mouthed” lets us know that getting the truth out is difficult for some reason with the most likely explanation being that his mouth has not recently been wetted by honesty. The Reader is never told why. It is left to our imagination. There are in life, of course, many situations wherein sharing the truth might prove difficult. It seems true though that the longer one lies, the more difficult honesty becomes.

As line three goes on, though, the Speaker tells us that the truth comes out in the end. What started as dry mouthed (or reticent) turns into drooled and slobbed (over-whelmed.) The poem concludes colorfully with truth dribbling on the man’s chin. The suggestion here is that once one decides to tell the truth, it will come forth, and even a person who started out as reticent will not be able to contain it.

It is possible to read this in several ways. One of them is to note that truth is messy and gross. The imagery also depicts a truth-speaker as like the very innocent (young or old) with a chin in need of wiping. One might also read the poem as a warning against wanting to share the truth. Once that decision is made internally, there is no going back, and you will find yourself helpless after. And I also think the poem is a warning against going too long in dishonesty. Once you do try to speak the truth, you’re unpracticed with it, and it is likely to be humiliating.

It’s a brilliant poem because it says a lot – or at the least it causes us to think a lot – in just a few short lines.

Originally published May 18, 2021