“Hope” is the thing with feathers -

Describes the effect of the storm (or hardship on the hopes of the speaker).

Shows that hope does a lot for you even in the worst situations. Hope is faithful and is always there no matter what.

“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.

"Hope" is the thing with feathers -

Emily Dickinson

Basic Summary

metaphor of bird

Hope is free and exists in all of us.

Iambic Trimeter

The bird or ,"feathers", symbolizes the feeling of hope.

It will always be there as long as we let it.

Allows people to fly away to a new hope or a new beginning.

Fourth stress at the end of the line - breaks up the rhythmic flow with long dashes (indicating breaks and pauses).

Broken wings/ feathers grounds a person.

Represents a person who has been beaten down by life and has lost hope.

Everywhere and is eternal even in the worst places.

First Stanza

Literal sense- Hope is a bird, and the bird can fly due to it's feathers/wings. Flying symbolizes breaking free. To say it perches in the soul means hope is always found in your heart. It sings the tune and never stops means that hope is never gone. It is always there inside you even in the worst circumstances, it can still be found.

Diction- Formal, vivid, concise, gentle

Tone- The tone is gentle, it refers to a bird singing which is always a pure sound. You usually hear birds sing in the morning which represents a new day, a fresh start.

Rhetorical situation- Hope is a literal bird inside you that sings and sits on a perch in your soul.

Figurative language- Yes

"Hope is a bird with feathers" Metaphor, symbolizes freedom

"Perches in soul" Metaphor, personification

"Sings tune without words, Never stops" Metaphor, personification

Imagery- A bird sitting inside your body singing a song

Sound- Slant rhyme, words flow together nicely

Structure- Slant rhyme and enjambment is used which makes you take your time reading and give it it's gentle tone

Second Stanza

Diction: mostly simple choice of words.

Literal sense: the stanza means that during the hardest of times, the hope that would have been "baffled", is still felt;

it helps people make it through.

Tone: happy, soft, hopeful, pleasant, uplifted

Seems as if the speaker is trying to uplift spirits.

Personification: "sore is the storm" --> must be a severe storm

Imagery: peaceful; a soft image of happiness

No sound in stanza.

Structure: ABAB

heard / bird

storm / warm

3 stanzas

Third Stanza

I’ve heard it in the chillest land -

This means that the bird is still around even if you are in an undesirable or “chillest land". The bird will always be there no matter how rough or bleak the situation.

And on the strangest Sea -

The strangest sea is another undesirable place and just like with the "chillest land" the bird is still here. The bird is faithful and follows the speaker under the worst, the most threatening of circumstances.

Yet - never - in Extremity,

It asked a crumb - of me.

The key theme of this section is that despite the gloomy, bleak, or tough situation, the bird never asked for anything in return. Even in the most critical circumstances the bird never asked for even "a crumb” in return for its support.

Diction: Sea, Extremity, and Me all rhyme.

Tone: positive and uplifting. It focuses on the fact that hope will always be with you no matter how critical the circumstances.

Imagery: Dickinson wants you to picture drastic situations by using the "chillest land" and the "strangest sea". She wants you to imagine being in a situation with the most threatening of circumstances and having a loyal bird (hope) remaining by your side.

Structure: sentences that are broken up into different lines.