“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
Emily Dickinson
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.
The poem, “‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers,” by Emily Dickinson, explains how hope is always there. That hope may not be visible to the human eye, but it is still there, “singing the tune with no words” (Dickinson line 3). Emily Dickinson writes the poem about how she has heard hope and that it “asked for a crumb of her” (Dickinson line 12). The theme of “‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers,” is about having hope through your life. To not lose hope, it is always there.
Dickinson’s poem sounds almost fictional with her metaphors. For example, (which was said above.) line 12 says, “asked for a crumb of her,” however Emily Dickinson is using this actually saying hope is like a bird asking for a crumb of her. Also in line 2 and 3 it says, “That perches in the soul -/And sings the tune without the words -” this is saying that the bird in the soul, singing the tune without the words. This poem is very clever the way she uses a bird as something completely different, but a bird and hope is actually similar. In this poem, Emily Dickinson uses symbolism. (in other words instead of saying hope straight out there, she uses a bird as a symbol of hope.) I love this poem because Emily Dickinson puts two ideas together that you would think would be totally different, but actually has if you know what the meaning of the poem, it makes more sense.
Dickinson’s poem sounds almost fictional with her metaphors. For example, (which was said above.) line 12 says, “asked for a crumb of her,” however Emily Dickinson is using this actually saying hope is like a bird asking for a crumb of her. Also in line 2 and 3 it says, “That perches in the soul -/And sings the tune without the words -” this is saying that the bird in the soul, singing the tune without the words. This poem is very clever the way she uses a bird as something completely different, but a bird and hope is actually similar. In this poem, Emily Dickinson uses symbolism. (in other words instead of saying hope straight out there, she uses a bird as a symbol of hope.) I love this poem because Emily Dickinson puts two ideas together that you would think would be totally different, but actually has if you know what the meaning of the poem, it makes more sense.