Hope+is+the+Thing+With+Feathers

Hope is the Thing With Feathers

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.

Sound Devices There is alliteration in line six. And **<span style="color: #258b25; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">s **<span style="color: #777171; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">ore must be the **<span style="color: #258b25; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">s **<span style="color: #777171; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">torm <span style="color: #6ab66a; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">There is consonance in line ten. <span style="color: #777171; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">A **<span style="color: #258b25; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">n **<span style="color: #777171; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">d o **<span style="color: #258b25; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">n **<span style="color: #777171; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;"> the stra **<span style="color: #258b25; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">n **<span style="color: #777171; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">gest sea; <span style="color: #6ab66a; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">There is assonance in line eleven. <span style="color: #777171; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">Y **<span style="color: #258b25; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">e **<span style="color: #777171; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">t, n **<span style="color: #258b25; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">e **<span style="color: #777171; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">ver, in **<span style="color: #258b25; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">e **<span style="color: #777171; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">x <span style="color: #777171; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">tr **<span style="color: #258b25; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">e **<span style="color: #777171; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">mity, <span style="color: #258b25; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 150%;">Figurative Devices <span style="color: #6ab66a; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">There is a metaphor throughout the whole poem  <span style="color: #6ab66a; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">comparing hope with a bird. <span style="color: #6ab66a; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">There is personification in the poem where hope <span style="color: #6ab66a; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 130%;">is given the qualities and traits of a bird. <span style="color: #258b25; display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 170%; text-align: center;">Explication

<span style="color: #777171; display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;"> Emily Dickinson was a woman of many words. Her unique qualities are what made her poems stand out from all the rest. Dickinson had a way of reaching out to the reader of her poem through her work. In her poem, “Hope is the Thing with Feathers,” Dickinson provides the reader with the feeling of hope, confidence, and contentment.

<span style="color: #777171; display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;"> “Hope is the Thing with Feathers,” is separated into three different quatrain stanzas. The first states that hope is not simply a word but a feeling that can be felt within the soul and the heart. Hope is a feeling of positive anticipation towards the future. The second stanza depicts the symbol of a bird which serves as a metaphor for this anticipation. The bird, being caught in the storm, never ceases to call out in hope of enduring the storm. This can be translated into the feeling one must have when faced with a tough situation. The third stanza reminds us that hope is always there for the reader and never asks for anything in return. The reason for this division of stanzas is to address three different facets of the same concept.

<span style="color: #777171; display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;"> In “Hope is the Thing with Feathers,” the message is that hope is continuous. There is no situation or problem that cannot be solved because hope is always there. The speaker of the poem, like Emily Dickinson, is someone who has been through a number of difficulties and yet has always tackled them with optimism. This is seen through imagery in which a bird, perched on a branch, weathers the storm before it. This shows the reader that one can make it through any “storm” in their life. One can see an example of alliteration in line six with the words sore and storm. Consonance can be found in line ten with the words and, on, and strangest. Assonance can be found in line eleven in the words yet, never, and extremity. There is also a metaphor in the poem comparing a bird with hope, as hope is given the characteristics and traits of said bird.

<span style="color: #777171; display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;"> As one can see, Emily Dickinson is a highly acclaimed poet who wrote of her trials and tribulations. “Hope is the Thing with Feathers” is a perfect example of this. Dickinson’s emphasis on lasting hope is easily seen through her symbols. Symbols which help the reader understand her message are strewn throughout her work. Dickinson will forever have the ability to reach out and touch her audience and her poem, “Hope is the Thing with Feathers,” only further stresses this.