“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,
It asked a crumb - of me.
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.
"Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness." (Desmond Tutu). Hope is something more than a word. It is the power that can keep people happy in the saddest of times, it is the bright light in the darkness, it is the soothing voice in the eerie silence. Hope is something that many wish for and many hold on to. This is what Emily Dickinson is trying to portray within the poem "Hope" Is The Thing With Feathers.
Dickinson portrays hope as a bird with "feathers / that perches in the soul". This "bird" continuously sang through the most severe storms, but it never needed much to continue its song; it only asked for nothing more than a crumb of her. This bird is only symbolizing what hope really is, an undying and everlasting ideology that is always there for those seeking it. Dickinson wants the reader to know that this always survives through the best and worst times, never leaving.
The poem itself includes a complex rhyming scheme, known as common meter, which is alternating lines of eight syllables and then six syllables. Intertwined through these rhymes, Dickinson's calming and hopeful tone is apparent and gives the reader a sense of peace and serenity. The very last stanza is the one that seems to provide the most hope, where Dickinson says that she "heard" hope in the strangest and coldest places and she didn't even give much of herself to hope.
"Hope" Is The Thing With Feathers is a poem in which the readers can read and get the sense that hope is always there for those who need it no matter how bad the situation may be.
Dickinson portrays hope as a bird with "feathers / that perches in the soul". This "bird" continuously sang through the most severe storms, but it never needed much to continue its song; it only asked for nothing more than a crumb of her. This bird is only symbolizing what hope really is, an undying and everlasting ideology that is always there for those seeking it. Dickinson wants the reader to know that this always survives through the best and worst times, never leaving.
The poem itself includes a complex rhyming scheme, known as common meter, which is alternating lines of eight syllables and then six syllables. Intertwined through these rhymes, Dickinson's calming and hopeful tone is apparent and gives the reader a sense of peace and serenity. The very last stanza is the one that seems to provide the most hope, where Dickinson says that she "heard" hope in the strangest and coldest places and she didn't even give much of herself to hope.
"Hope" Is The Thing With Feathers is a poem in which the readers can read and get the sense that hope is always there for those who need it no matter how bad the situation may be.