Emily Dickinson Poem Reflection

“Hope is the Thing with Feathers” by Emily Dickinson is a very, for lack of a better term, hopeful poem. It is all about the way that hope has followed her all of her life.

The first stanza says “Hope is the thing with feathers-- that perches in the soul—and sings the tune without the words—And never stops—at all. (Dickinson)” I think this is a line full of a lot of great imagery. When one thinks of feathers, one naturally thinks about softness and comfort. Most people consider downy and soft things to be comforting and bring a smile to your face. I believe that it why she chose the idea of feathers lining hope. Next, she discusses how it perches in the soul (Dickinson). When one thinks of their soul they think of their innermost self and what is important to them, so the image of a comforting and fuzzy thing taking residence in your soul is a very lovely image. Next it discusses how the fuzzy thing within your soul sings a tune without words and never stops (Dickinson). Because it says that it sings a tune without words, it makes me think of the melody of my favorite song being played by a fuzzy creature within my soul. This whole image is very peaceful and tranquil, which is the idea of the imagery in the poem.
The second stanza discusses that the bird continues to sing even stronger when a Gale comes along (Dickinson). The word gale is capitalized in this line and I think that this puts emphasis on it and makes the reader understand that this is a very strong wind and yet the bird is still able to continue its song because of how strong it is (Dickinson). This stanza also discusses that no storm would be able to abash the tiny bird (Dickinson). This imagery of a very strong storm in which the bird is simply perched in my soul continuing to sing makes me once again feel comforted and strong due to its presence.
The last stanza discusses that this little bird of hope has continued to sing strongly even through the “chillest land” and the “strongest sea (Dickinson).” She then says that it had never asked a crumb of her, even in Extremity (Dickinson). The fact that the word Extremity is capitalized makes the reader realize just how strong this instance is, yet the bird still does not even ask a crumb of the person to which it sings. The use of the word crumb is also significant because it provides a very realistic and common image for the reader to compare to. It seems important to Dickinson to make you realize the significant difference between the Extremity and the crumb that the bird of hope can fight through.
“Hope is the thing with feathers” is a very visually strong poem about how strong hope can be in our lives. Through her depiction of hope as a small bird that lives in one’s soul, the reader can truly feel the hope within himself or herself.

Selected Bibliography

Dickinson, Emily. "Hope is the Thing with Feathers." The Literature Network: Online classic literature, poems, and quotes. Essays & Summaries. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2011. .