Page 355 - Wordsmith A Guide to College Writing

Emily Dickinson
Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune—without the words,

And never stops at all, 4

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird

That kept so many warm. 8

I’ve heard it in the chillest land,

And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,

It asked a crumb of me. 12

Thinking about the Poem

1. Dickinson defines hope by comparing it to something else. To

what does she compare hope? Which words emphasize her

comparison?

2. According to the first stanza, where does hope live? Why does

it never stop?

3. In the second stanza, hope’s song is said to be sweetest “in the
gale,” that is, during a storm. Why do you think that is so?

4. In the third stanza, where has the speaker heard hope’s song?

Does hope ask for anything in return?