Hope is the thing with feathers
Hope is the thing with feathers Lyrics
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,
It asked a crumb - of me.
About
In this famous early Dickinson poem, written around 1861, the poet imagines “Hope” as a metaphorical bird, not only brave and resolute, ready to sit out the worst kind of storm, but also confident and dignified, accepting no threats nor favors from others. This bird, according to the poet, lives within the human soul and sings despite the storm. It reminds readers of the power of hope
Note that Dickinson didn’t give her poems titles, so this one is referred to by its first line and the number in her collection, 314.
Dickinson injects freshness into an abstract concept by using inventive and unexpected imagery and language. This is one of what has been described as Dickinson’s “definition poems”, in which she starts with an abstract idea and develops it in a way that is original and refreshing.
Structure
The poem comprises three quatrains or stanzas of four lines each. The meter is alternating iambic tetrameter — that is four iambs per line — and iambic trimeter — that is three iambs per line. A iamb is a metrical foot made up of one unstressed followed by one stressed syllable. The effect is appropriately elegant and deceptively regular, conveying the reassurance that is the essence of the poem.
This pattern is sometimes referred to as ballad stanza or common meter; the pattern frequently used in hymns.
The rhyme scheme follows the pattern ABCB, although the final stanza is ABBB. In the first stanza the poet uses slant-rhyme, for example “feathers” and “words”, “soul” and “all”. The rhyme becomes firmer as the poem progresses and as Dickinson’s ideas solidify.
The punctuation is important and is characteristic of the poet, with the proliferation of dashes, forming caesurae that create pauses for the reader to reflect.
Language and Imagery
The voice is that of a third person speaker, we can assume the poet, although she expresses ideas that are beyond the personal; we could say universal.
The dominant device is the extended metaphor of the bird. The poet begins with a tentative idea — “the thing with feathers” as if she is unsure. This is then developed; the bird that is hope has wings and therefore can fly and roosts in the human soul. There is the final twist in the last line; hope is a gift and asks nothing in return of the reader and of humanity.
A range of poetic techniques — anaphora, alliteration, polysyndeton etc — which will be explored in the detailed annotations.
See The Poetry of Emily Dickinson; Atlantic Review
BBC Podcast ‘In Our Time’ – Emily Dickinson
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
To abash someone or something is to make them feel make embarrassed, disconcerted, or ashamed.
The poem mostly uses iambic trimeter which is a fancy way of saying there are 6 syllables in each line (3 unstressed and 3 stressed alternating). However, in some lines there are an additional one or two syllables.
The stanzas also follow irregular rhyme schemes.
Stanza one is ABCB, stanza two is ABAB (though B is an imperfect rhyme) and stanza three is ABBB.
I am not sure what you mean. Can you clarify your question please?
- 6.Hope is the thing with feathers
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- 38.The Preacher
- 41.Deed
- 42.Time’s Lesson
- 43.Remorse
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- 87.In Shadow
- 92.By The Sea
- 98.The Mushroom
- 100.The Spider
- 107.Storm
- 108.The Rat
- 117.My Cricket
- 124.The Blue Jay
- 126.Going to Heaven!
- 128.Epitaph
- 138.I went to heaven
- 147.Ample make this Bed
- 151.If I should die
- 157.Requiem
- 158.What Inn is this
- 161.Void