Metaphor

"Hope is the Thing with Feathers"

By: Emily Dickinson

(poem from poetryfoundation.org)

“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.

Biographical Information

           Emily Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830, in Amherst, Massachusetts. She attended Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley, but only for one year. Throughout her life, she seldom left her home and visitors were few. The people with whom she did come in contact, however, had an enormous impact on her poetry. She was particularly stirred by the Reverend Charles Wadsworth, whom she first met on a trip to Philadelphia.

           Dickinson's poetry was heavily influenced by the Metaphysical poets of seventeenth-century England, as well as her reading of the Book of Revelation and her upbringing in a Puritan New England town, which encouraged a Calvinist, orthodox, and conservative approach to Christianity. While Dickinson was extremely prolific as a poet and regularly enclosed poems in letters to friends, she was not publicly recognized during her lifetime. The first volume of her work was published posthumously in 1890 and the last in 1955. She died in Amherst in 1886. 

(biographical information from poets.org)

Explanation of Technique

            In a metaphor poem two different objects are being compared. The comparison is usually hidden in the poem. Unlike simile poems, metaphor poems do not use "like" or "as". Emily Dickinson's poem, "Hope is the Thing with Feathers", is a metaphor poem because she is comparing hope to a bird.

Interpretation of Poem

             In this metaphor poem by Emily Dickinson, she compares hope to a bird. Emily Dickinson goes on to describe hope as bird who is perched in the soul, sings tunes silently and never stops. This means to me, that hope is in your soul and heart. It speaks to you always, especially in times of trouble and distress. The last line of poem, "It asked a crumb - of me", is very important too. What I interpret from that line is hope asks you to believe in it too, as it believes in you.

(picture from lizweiller.wordpress.com)

Visual Explanation

             The picture above is a woman celebrating her victory. This is to represent in Emily Dickinson's poem, believing in hope can help you get through a difficult situation. I think she wrote this poem to give motivation to someone who is going through trials in their life.