Hope is the thing with feathers Emily Dickinsons life was just as unique as her writing.

She was not a sociable person (Biography of Emily Dickinson). She spent most of her life inside her familys house: The Homestead (Biography of Emily Dickinson). Dickinson wrote almost two thousand poems (Biography of Emily Dickinson). She never completed many of her poems or prepared them for the public (Biography of Emily Dickinson). Dickinson never named any of her literary works, they are referred to by the first line of the poem (Biography of Emily Dickinson). One of the many poems that Emily Dickinson wrote was Hope is the thing with feathers. This is one of her most popular pieces of literature. In the poem Hope is the thing with feathers Emily Dickinson captures the readers attention by using the literary elements: metaphors, imagery, and mood. Hope is portrayed as a heroic figured through the literary elements of metaphors, imagery, and mood. Each stanza has its own literary element. The first stanza contains a metaphor. The poem uses the metaphorical image of a bird to explain hope. The second stanza contains imagery. The creative imagery of the poem allows the reader to not only feel hope, but to see it too. The whole poem contains a mood but the third stanza emphasizes it. Hope is very uplifting to a troubled soul. The first stanza uses the literary element of metaphors. Hope is being compared to a bird. Hope is the thing with feathers (Dickinson). Hope is a feeling. It is not physically seen but by giving hope feathers the reader can visualize what hope looks like. When most people think of feathers they visualize a bird, therefore the reader pictures hope as a bird. Emily Dickinson uses the next three lines of the poem to give the bird life. That perches in the soul (Dickinson). Birds like to soar high in the sky and rest on the branches of a tree. They make a nest on these

branches and it becomes their home. Although, hope is not an animated object, it too has a home (Emily Dickinson Poem Analysis). Hope can be found within us. It lives in our souls (Emily Dickinson Poem Analysis). It is a quiet presence but you can always hear it. And sings the tune without the words (Dickinson). A song has two parts: the instrumentals and the lyrics. A song is incomplete without the lyrics (Bansal). This song that hope sings is so beautiful that it does not need lyrics (Bansal). Hope is independent. And never stops at all, (Dickinson). Birds are always singing songs and chirping. They are never quite. Hope is also always singing its inspirational song. It is always there for us. Hope will never leave us. The second stanzas use of imagery paints a picture of what hope looks like if it was destroyed (Emily Dickinson Poem Analysis). Hope is a beautiful gift but it is delicate. And sweetest in the gale is heard; (Dickinson). Wind is very harsh and noisy. Although, the wind is loud, you can always still hear the faint sound of hope. The wind represents the hard times that we all face in our lives (Emily Dickinson Poem Analysis). Hope is always there to comfort us and remind us that our hard times will eventually end. And sore must be the storm (Dickinson). When we are going through rough times in our life we feel surrounded by darkness and gloom. It feels like its an endless storm that is trying to destroy us. That could abash the little bird (Dickinson). Sometimes we feel that life gives us more than we can handle. If we let them, all the negative things in our life could drown out hope. Just like a little bird can be injured in a treacherous storm, our hope can be lost in difficult times. That kept so many warm (Dickinson). Hope gives people comfort. It reminds us that the bad times will end and that there are good times to come. Hope keeps us warm in this great big storm that we call life. The third stanza uses the literary element of mood. Emily Dickinson uses the last stanza to explain the deeper meaning of hope. Ive heard it in the chilliest land / And on the strangest

sea (Dickinson). We all lose our way in life and sometimes we can not find our way back. We feel alone but we forget that there is someone there for us: hope (Emily Dickinson Poem Analysis). It is willing to find us when we can not find ourselves. Hope saves us whenever we are in trouble. Yet never in extremity, / It asked a crumb of me (Dickinson). These two lines of the poem define what hope really is. Dickinson shows us that hope is more than just a feeling, it is our friend. It always comforts us and supports us. Even in the darkest moments of our lives you can find hope. It is a beautiful gift that is always there for us. The best thing about hope is that it never asks for anything in return (Emily Dickinson Poem Analysis). It is selfless. Hope is a hero that is always willing to save us, only if we let it (Emily Dickinson Poem Analysis). Hope is the thing with feathers is a unique and original poem. The use of metaphors transforms hope from a small feeling to a lively creature. The vivid imagery makes the poem come to life. The mood of this poem is happiness, thankfulness and astonishment. This is a very beautiful poem because the readers can relate to it with their own personal struggles.

Work Citied Bansal, Rehaan. Summary of Hope is the thing with feathers By Emily Dickinson. Shareyouressays. n.p., 2014. Web. 6 Feb. 2014. <http://www.shareyouressays.com/97731/summary-of-hope-is-the-thing-with-feathersby-emily-dickinson>. Biography of Emily Dickinson. VCU. n.p., n.d. Web. 6 Feb. 2014. <http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/ED303/emilybio.html>. Dickinson, Emily. Hope is the Thing with Feathers. Biography Online. n.p., n.d. Web. 5 Feb. 2014. <http://www.biographyonline.net/emily_dickinson/popular_poems.html>. Emily Dickinson Poem Analysis. Essortment. Demand Media, 2011. Web. 6 Feb. 2014. <http://www.essortment.com/emily-dickinson-poem-analysis-61249.html>.