It only empowers us and, in return, demands nothing. It liberates us from despair and gives us the strength to move on. Emily says that hope resides in the hearts for good. Major Themes in “Hope” is the Thing with Feathers: Hope is the major theme that runs throughout the poem.She expresses that hope helped her survive the tests and trials of her life. Towards the end, she represents her own miserable plight. She compares human struggle with the storm and illustrates that hope serves as a beacon of light in that storm. By using the word “at all,” Dickenson shows that hope is everlasting, ever shining and undefeatable. Its song helps devastated souls to regain their senses.

This bird, as a silent companion, continues to preach to the soul to stay steadfast and hopeful regardless of obstacles.

Representation of “Hope” as a God-gifted Quality: The poet compares hope with a free and courageous bird that sings its wordless tune no matter what the situation is.

Dickenson also explains that only hope can help us to remain positive during extreme situations. Using it as a metaphor, she has highlighted the importance of being hopeful and optimistic. According to her, hope as a golden quality of human beings that shines even during adversity.

Emily has presented hope as an ever-singing and selfless bird within the soul of a person. It was first published in 1891 and gained immense popularity due to its subject.

Popularity: Written by Emily Dickinson, an American poet, “Hope” is the Thing with Feathers” is a masterpiece of spiritual expressions about hope and its impacts on the mind.

This stanza contributes to the main idea of hope and its impacts through the extended metaphor of the little bird. The poet has extended this metaphor further, saying that the bird of hope is vulnerable to extremely windy conditions. It can tolerate only a slight gale, but when it turns into a storm, the bird is vulnerable and becomes silent. In fact, this little bird of hope has a limit. However, when the weather becomes stormy, it silences this tune.

It becomes the sweetest thing a person could hear. Meanings of Stanza -2Įmily Dickinson, in this stanza, states that this has been heard during the gale.

She might have the poet in mind who never stops hoping against hope. This extended metaphor contributes to the main theme of hope and its positive impacts, presenting it as a bird that never stops singing. The best thing about this nightingale type of creature is that it never stops singing, and obviously, this is a positive song. She states that it sits in the soul and sings positivity even without using words and only using the tune. Emily Dickinson beautifully presents hope as a creature with wings.

Hope is the thing with wings