"Hope" is the thing with feathers Analysis

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"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.

.: ah interesting :.

I interperted the poem more as a reference. The hope can stand through much more hardship than the people themselves, but hope doesn't react as the way a bird would. A bird would sink into a slump, or fly from the complication, whereas hope would continue to be precious, reasuring the being and coaching its continuation.

| Posted on 2008-03-10 | by a guest

.: ah interesting :.

I interperted the poem more as a reference. The hope can stand through much more hardship than the people themselves, but hope doesn't react as the way a bird would. A bird would sink into a slump, or fly from the complication, whereas hope would continue to be precious, reasuring the being and coaching its continuation.

| Posted on 2008-03-10 | by a guest

.: :.

Dickinson defines hope with a metaphor, comparing it to a bird. Dickinson introduces her metaphor in the first two lines, “Hope is the thing with feathers/That perches in the soul.” Throughout the entire poem, this metaphor develops through Dickinson’s comparison of characteristics between hope and a bird, whatever is being said of the bird applies to hope, and the application to hope is Dickinson's point in this poem. It is obvious that a bird “sings the tune,” but Emily’s version of a bird, “sings a tune—without the words, and never stops at all.” In the soul where this bird has perched on, sings wordlessly and without pause. Like the bird, hope comes from one’s soul, and “never stops at all,” meaning that an individual does not stop hoping. Like the tune without words, hope also is not a matter of words. It is a feeling about the future both of desire and expectation.
The development of this metaphor continues as Dickinson describes how the bird reacts to hardships. A storm must be impossibly brutal to “abash the little bird.” The bird continues to survive as it can be found everywhere. The “chillest land” to the “strangest sea,” symbolizes hope’s presence under the worst and most threatening circumstances.
Hope reacts in the same way. For hope to be “abashed,” “sore must be the storm,” or fatal must be the hardship. “That kept so many warm” is an appropriate characteristic of hope and a bird. Similar to a bird’s constant and comforting melodies, hope’s constant reassurance “has kept so many warm” in times of hardships.


| Posted on 2007-02-28 | by a guest

.: :.

Dickinson defines hope with a metaphor, comparing it to a bird. Dickinson introduces her metaphor in the first two lines, “Hope is the thing with feathers/That perches in the soul.” Throughout the entire poem, this metaphor develops through Dickinson’s comparison of characteristics between hope and a bird, whatever is being said of the bird applies to hope, and the application to hope is Dickinson's point in this poem. It is obvious that a bird “sings the tune,” but Emily’s version of a bird, “sings a tune—without the words, and never stops at all.” In the soul where this bird has perched on, sings wordlessly and without pause. Like the bird, hope comes from one’s soul, and “never stops at all,” meaning that an individual does not stop hoping. Like the tune without words, hope also is not a matter of words. It is a feeling about the future both of desire and expectation.
The development of this metaphor continues as Dickinson describes how the bird reacts to hardships. A storm must be impossibly brutal to “abash the little bird.” The bird continues to survive as it can be found everywhere. The “chillest land” to the “strangest sea,” symbolizes hope’s presence under the worst and most threatening circumstances.
Hope reacts in the same way. For hope to be “abashed,” “sore must be the storm,” or fatal must be the hardship. “That kept so many warm” is an appropriate characteristic of hope and a bird. Similar to a bird’s constant and comforting melodies, hope’s constant reassurance “has kept so many warm” in times of hardships.


| Posted on 2007-02-28 | by a guest