Search results
The poem compares hope to a bird that sings in the soul and never stops, even in the harshest conditions. The phrase "sore must be the storm" means that the storm must be very severe to silence the bird.
- Wild Nights - Wild Nights! (269)
Source: The Poems of Emily Dickinson Edited by R. W....
- Gay and Lesbian Wedding Poems
Love poetry to read at a lesbian or gay wedding. Planning...
- Poetry Magazine
Read the latest issue of POETRY magazine—the oldest monthly...
- It Was Not Death, for I Stood Up, (355)
Use Dickinson’s poem to generate a discussion about writing...
- Wild Nights - Wild Nights! (269)
- Summary
- Structure and Form
- Literary Devices
- Analysis, Stanza by Stanza
- Historical Context
- Personal Commentary
Throughout, ‘Hope is the Thing with Feathers,’ The narratorperceives hope as a bird that resides inside humans. It persists dutifully without a break, singing constantly. Using metaphor, she emphasizes it sings vigorously during a hurricane, requiring a heavy storm to lay the bird in peace. As per the speaker, this bird never wavers by her side in ...
Rhyme. The poem follows a loose rhyme scheme of ABCB, conforming to the expected pattern of a ballad. The lines break the pattern (in both stanzaone and stanza two) but generally, the pattern remai...Rhythm. ‘Hope is the Thing with Feathers’ is written in ballad meter, a common meter. This means that the lines alternate between iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter. The odd-numbered lines conta...Throughout this poem, the poet makes use of several literary devices. These include but are not limited to: 1. Repetition: the poet uses ‘that’ and ‘and’ several times throughout ‘Hope is the Thing with Feathers’. 2. Enjambment: seen when the poet cuts off a line before its natural stopping point. For example, the transitionbetween lines three and ...
Stanza One
Emily Dickinson is an expert employer of metaphors, as she uses the small bird to convey her message, indicating that hope burns in the harshest of storms, coldest of winds, and in the unknown of seas for that matter, yet it never demands in return. It persists continuously within us, keeping us alive. In the case of the first quatrain, the narrator feels that hope can be deemed as a bird with feathers, singing in its own tune merrily. It may not speak any specific language, yet it’s certainl...
Stanza Two
In the case of the second stanza, the poetess elucidates the expansive power hope wields over us. It gets merrier and sweeter as the storm gets mightier and relentless. The poetess deems that no storm can sway hope and its adamant attitude. According to the poetess, it would take a deadly storm of astronomical proportions to flatten the bird of hope that has kept the ship sailing for most men.
Stanza Three
In the last stanza, or quatrain, Emily Dickinson concludes her poem by stressing that hope retains its clarity and tensile strength in the harshest of conditions, yet it never demands in return for its valiant services. Hope is inherently powerful and certainly needs no polishing, as it steers the ship from one storm to another with efficacy. The metaphorical aspect of ‘Hope is the Thing with Feathers’is an old practice, used by well-known poets, the small bird represents hope in this poem. W...
Dickinson was born in the same house that she eventually died in. The popular myth is that Dickinson was a literary hermit-genius. But, contemporary accounts of her life suggest that she was active in social circles and adored human interaction. Moreover, her travels were limited to her countryside and native town, as evidenced by her poetry which ...
‘Hope is the Thing with Feathers’ is a beautiful, metaphorically driven poem. Throughout, Dickinson uses the bird in her usual homiletic style, inspired by religious poems and Psalms. Hope, according to Emily Dickinson, is the sole abstract entity weathering storms after storms, bypassing hardships with eventual steadiness. It remains unabashed in ...
And sore must be the storm — That could abash the little Bird That kept so many warm — I've heard it in the chillest land — And on the strangest Sea — Yet — never — in Extremity, It asked a crumb — of me.
1 “Hope” is the thing with feathers -. 2 That perches in the soul -. 3 And sings the tune without the words -. 4 And never stops - at all -. 5 And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -. 6 And sore must be the storm -. 7 That could abash the little Bird. 8 That kept so many warm -. 9 I’ve heard it in the chillest land -.
Feb 11, 2016 · Learn how Dickinson compares hope to a singing bird that never stops in the face of storms and challenges. Explore the poem's metre, rhyme, and word choice, and contrast it with Brontë's 'Hope'.
1830 –. 1886. Hope is the thing with feathers. That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all, And sweetest in the gale is heard; And sore must be the storm. That could abash the little bird. That kept so many warm. I've heard it in the chillest land, And on the strangest sea; Yet, never, in extremity,
by Emily Dickinson. Hope is the thing with feathers. That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all, And sweetest in the gale is heard; And sore must be the storm. That could abash the little bird. That kept so many warm.
