ELA 6 – Reading Name: _________________

Date: ________________ Mod: _______

Hope

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 chilliest land,

And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

Directions: Using the poem above, answer the questions IN COMPLETE SENTENCES.

#1. This poem is a metaphor. What is a metaphor? ______________________________

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#2. Metaphors are very much like similes. What is different about them? _____________

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#3. What is Hope being compared to in this poem? ______________________________

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#4. Look up the word, ABASH. Write the definition. _____________________________

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#5. How does Emily Dickinson feel about those that might try to challenge someone else’s
hope? ________________________________________________________________

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#6. According to the poem, where can you find hope? ___________________________

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 Hope by Emily Dickinson
KEY
1. A metaphor is a literary element that
compares two things.

2. A metaphor does not use the words like or

as.

3. Hope is being compared to a little bird.

4. Abash means to destroy.

5. Emily Dickinson feels those who try to

challenge someone’s hope are mean and
cruel.
ELA 6 – Reading Name: _________________

Date: ________________ Mod: _______

ONLINE POETRY BUILDING ACTIVITY

Step #1: BRAINSTORM

Think of 5 – 6 words that could possibly describe hope that would fit in each category below.
Think OUTSIDE the box. For example, is hope to you the dreams of your future or a particular
sport that you play? Don’t be afraid to experiment with your word choice. Use a dictionary or
thesaurus to help you:

Adjectives Singular Nouns Verbs

(descriptive words) (Person, place, thing) (Action words)

inspiring rainbow dance

Step #2: Log on to http://www.poetryforge.org/teaching.htm and click on the Hope is …

poetry tool. Enter your words into the Poetry Tool, click generate poem to see how
the computer uses and interprets your words. (sometimes this is REALLY odd)

Step #3: Take notes on the BEST STANZAS that the computer generates onto the lines on
this page to create your Online Poetry Tool “Hope is..” Poem.

(Keep in mind that you may need to rearrange some of the

words or correct the grammar on some of the stanzas that
the computer generates—after all, poetry is created
through the soul by HUMANS, not computers.)
Stanzas that I liked:

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Hope is…
By: ___________________________________

and poetryforge.com

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