Try It
"Hope is the thing with feathers"
Read Emily Dickinson's poem, "Hope is the thing with feathers," twice.
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.
Poetry is an ancient and oral tradition. Reading the poem aloud can help explain its meaning while giving you the opportunity to hear the rhythm, rhyme, or poetic devices.
Now, listen to it read and watch it signed.
"Hope is the thing with feathers"
Select the button below to study the vocabulary of Emily Dickinson. At anytime when you are reading one of her selections and you are confused about a word, identify the meaning that Miss Dickinson knew from her time period by going to the Lexicon site.
Define the words gale, sore, abash, chillest, and extremity.
What is the abstract comparison--the personified extended metaphor?
Answer: "hope is a thing with feathers"
How are "hope" and "the thing with feathers" similar?
Answer: "hope" is similar to a "thing" because it is a feeling. The thing or feeling is like a bird.
How can "hope" perch?
Answer: Hope can't actually perch; that is why the extended metaphor comparing it to a bird is important. Whatever is being said of the bird applies to hope.
Why doesn't "hope" sing?
Answer: Hope is singing, but its words are inside the person. Even when there are no words to sing, the bird continues to create a song, so this is saying that hope stays present within the person.
Why do you think "hope" is "sweetest" during a storm?
Answer: While people experience dark and stormy times, hope can offer some encouragement. The bird, or hope, can only be affected if the storm is extremely severe.
Can "hope" travel?
Answer: Hope can be everywhere. It has been in "the chilliest land/And on the strangest sea."
Does "hope" ever ask anything of others?
Answer: The speaker continues to hear hope in the darkest of times, but hope never asks or expects anything in return.
What is the message of the poem?
Answer: One of the main themes of the poem is that there is always hope. Everyone has a voice within him or her that can be heard in tough times; that voice is hope.
This picture is of a caged bird. This doesn't represent the metaphor of hope being a "thing with feathers" simply because it is imprisoned.
This picture would be the best choice because it has a person's hand reaching out to a bird. "Hope is a thing with feathers."
