The complete poems of emily dickinson
“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 BirdThat 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.
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“Hope is the Thing with feathers” was first published in 1891. Without ever actually using the word “bird” but once, Dickinson likens hope itself to a creature of flight. The language of the first two lines suggests the weightlessness that hope brings with it: the upward motion of the wind ruffling through feathers; the lightness of a tiny bird on its perch, ready at a moment’s notice to flutter away.
The poem sings of the robust, enduring nature of hope. The picture of a tiny bird against gargantuan storms and gales reminds the reader of the immense nguồn that even the smallest fragment of hope can hold, no matter how deep in the soul it is buried. Dickinson contrasts the “chill
The tone of this poem is quite characteristic of Dickinson. Although she spent much of her life in seclusion và her experiences were limited, she was a dreamer & many of her poems glowed with promise và possibility. “’Hope’ is the thing with feathers” simply & eloquently acknowledges the enduring human capability for hope.
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Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) was born in Amherst, Massachusetts. She lived a quiet, secluded life & suffered occasionally from bouts of depression. Because the world she inhabited was small, her subject matter was limited but focused. Her garden was one of her greatest passions & appeared often in her writing. This seclusion also influenced her poetic voice – her poetry sings of the possibility of dreams not yet realized. Very few of Dickinson’s poems were published when she was alive, & the depth of her poetry was not known until her family discovered her collection of poems after her death. Today, Dickinson is one of the most appreciated American poets. She is often admired for her efficient yet brilliant word choice & for defying the rigidity in khung that limited many writers before her, though she leans heavily on Common (or hymnal) measure, with its 8-6-8-6 syllables & abab (however slant or subverted) rhyme.
Johnson’s edition of The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson is readily available (including with Amazon) và includes all 1775 of her poems. Her letters are available in his edition of Final Harvest.
Isabella Zuroski is a senior English & Sociology double major from Bemus Point, New York. She is the president of W&L"s all-female a cappella group Jubilee, & she has a special fondness for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, as well as anything written by Frank McCourt.
