Emily Dickinson’s poem “Hope is the thing with feathers” has been a cornerstone in American poetry for over a century. This 12-line poem is full of imagery that compares hope to a resilient bird. The most literal interpretation of this poem leaves the reader imagining hope as winged and singing, as in the lines “Hope…perches in the soul,/And sings the tune without the words.” The literal interpretation of hope as a bird could continue, but what Dickinson communicates about hope, however, is that it resembles a bird more figuratively in the qualities it possesses. Comparing hope to this bird highlights that hope is resilient and selfless. When Dickinson writes “I’ve heard it in the chillest land,/And on the strangest sea,” she means that hope,
The intriguing thing about this poem is it’s use of the imagery of a bird, the first line is the audience being addressed as “little bird” something that could easily be a childhood nickname, “Fly away little bird / Fly away to a better place / Where you will soar through the sky / In the wide open space” This is a simple verse of the author imploring the ‘little bird’ to fly freely, nothing different until paired with the second verse “Fly away to live out all your hopes and dreams / Enter the real world / Of wondrous things / Through the dark clouds and over the rainbows” Using the mirroring words of ‘hopes and dreams’ and ‘dark clouds and over the rainbows’ creates the thoughts of highs and loves and everything in between, a common happening in the ‘real world’, which is usually used in regards of a child growing up and becoming up and creating a life for themselves. This is defined even more in the next three lines; “Fly away to destinations unknown / Fly away to discover yourself / And embrace what you find” these lines emphasise the thought of growing up and moving on in life, but the use of ‘embrace’ encourages the ‘little bird’ to not be afraid of change or transforming themselves, instead to welcome the difference and
Everyone has experienced a dark path in life, when accepting defeat and giving up seemed like the only option. Feeling desperate and defeated; learning that hope means finding that little bit of light in all the darkness. Throughout history, hummingbirds represent the symbolic meaning behind hope. Due to the small features of the birds, hummingbirds represent hardships or challenges plagued by negativity. Teaching one to come out with a positive outlook and optimism. In the poem, Hummingbirds, by Mary Oliver, the author uses the image of Hummingbirds to portray a symbol of hope in a time of obscurity.
The theme of Sympathy is the oppressive treatment of both the narrator and the bird, and the imprisonment of the bird and how the narrator sympathizes with it. This is shown through the diction choices which create dark images of mistreatment and sorrow, and imagery that is strengthened in repetition. An example of diction that supports the theme is “...its blood is red on the cruel bars;” this choice of words gives image of a dark, dirty cage with a wounded beaten bird and its cage that is blood red from his wounds; this image is very oppressive and gives characteristics of the prisonization of the bird. The next example of the poem’s theme is shown by imagery and repetition, which come together convey strong flashing images of the imprisonment of the bird and its oppressive feeling. “When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore, -- When he beats his bars and he would be free;”, this quote gives imagery to the reader to see a bruised, tired, and dirty bird beating against his cage for freedom. The repetition of the word “when” in the quote gives off the effect to the reader of flashing images one after the other. While the use of the words “bars”, “bruised”, “sore”, and “he beats”, give off the specific imagery characteristic of oppression to the reader’s developing images.
Lastly, the speaker talks of the motive behind the caged bird’s song. When people hear birds singing in nature, or in cages, they often assume that the bird is singing a jocose tune. People typically fail to analyze the potential emotions of the bird and its feelings toward its environment. Rather than singing a tune of joy, the caged bird sings a tragic melody of sorrow, a desperate cry for freedom. When the speaker says “a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings”, he is alluding to God and Heaven, to which the bird directs his cries in the hope that they will be heard. The attitude that the speaker has towards the woeful bird is, as the title says, sympathetic. The speaker is able
In the first stanza, "Hope is the Thing with Feathers," Dickinson has made use of metaphorical bird image to explain the conceptual idea of hope (Dickinson & McNeil 2002). Hope is not a conscious thing, it is lifeless, but by offering hope feathers, the poet creates an image in people's minds. The feathers imagery invokes hope they represent hope as feathers enable a person to fly and give the picture of flying away to another new hope and a new dawn. In disparity, broken feathers and wrecked wing grounds an individual and symbolizes the image of a poor person who has gone through difficult life challenges. The experiences results to their wings being broken making them loose the power to have hope for the future.
Birds are shown throughout our culture as symbols. Simply by their appearance, they can spark feelings of love, freedom, or wonder in the hearts of people. Birds are creatures that have attributes similar to the beings on earth that are so fascinated with them. Humans are full of constant bewilderment and curiosity, so it is no epiphany that they are entranced by such graceful creatures of the sky. People tend to use birds as symbolism, given the stark similarities between the creatures in the sky and humans. Each can fly with the desire to soar above in the sky and see all that is hidden down below. Both humans and birds can sing songs of revelation to their neighboring friends. Additionally, birds and humans can find themselves being restrained by something. Although such a comparison seems bizarre, Anthony Doerr captured the essence of birds and its connections entirely in his novel, All the Light We Cannot See. Almost every character that is spoken of has an aspect of freedom and flight deep in their story. Doerr’s novel follows the life of two teenagers as they travel through life during the disaster of World War Two. Many characters in the novel exhibit actions and situations in which a bird might find itself in. Werner finds himself fighting restraints, as a bird would to its cage. Marie-Laure is a young birds stretching her wings for the first time. The surrounding friends and characters also face the issues of the war, similar to which a bird struggles with the
A key aspect in writing an interesting story is forming symbolism. As the result of symbolism, readers can dive just a little bit deeper into the meaning and core of the work. Birds are a moderately frequent emblem, serving as representations of freedom, independence, and not afraid to be loud or to speak their minds. In Kate Chopin’s novella, “The Awakening,” birds were used to express Edna’s true feelings and desires, to explain the courage required to defy the standards, and to show Edna’s final defeat.
delicate vision of a bird: “I fly with my own wings. I don’t need anyone else to hold me up.”
“But a caged bird stands on a grave of dreams... His wings are clipped and his feet are tied/so he opens his throat to sing…” (M.A 26-29). This quote describes the birds emotions as it loses its dreams, it doesn't lose its hope so it repeatedly sings hoping it will reach a bird for assistance. It also portrays a very positive them as the reader figures out that its perseverance pays off. “...and his tune is heard/on the distant hill…”(M.A 19-20). This is validating the fact that the bird’s prayers have successfully been retrieved and help is nearer than it has been thought.
Once this readiness is attained, Pearl soars “upward, like a floating sea-bird.” Comparing Pearl to a bird is the perfect way for the author to display freedom. The bird begins on the ground which represents the gloom that Pearl has been trapped in, and the sky represents joy. As the Pearl-bird leaves the ground (sadness), and flies upward, soaring towards the sky (happiness), she gets closer and closer to pure
Dickinson uses the word hope to be portrayed as a symbol to be free, and that its supposed to be found within yourself. It expresses that that the pain is represented to be a storm, that kills the bird within it bringing tranquility. Some literary devices found in the text are, for example, “The bird singing that never stops,” is an example metaphor because it symbolizes the hope. Throughout the text Dickinson uses hints of difficult vocabulary that requires you to look it up to understand the meaning of the word in the context its being used in. Imagery in this text is used to show that when all odds are against you, and things get rough the storm is the symbol to showcase
The poem is about the vulnerability, innermost torment and the suppression of an emotional and fragile personality symbolized through the image of a Bluebird hidden inside the speakers mind.
The bird’s mania manifests in vain attempts on breaking the bars of his cage with his body. Beating its body against the bars until he bleeds “red,” (line 9) the bird would almost prefer death to this life if it were not for the vague prospect of release. Towards the end of the stanza, the tale of the caged bird thickens as his “old scars… pulse… with a keener sting” (line 12-13). This line shows that the bird is not simply trying to fly away without understanding the limits of the change, the bird seems to represent the spirit of a stallion rejecting the enforced domestication of its captors.
In the short story, ‘“Hope” is the thing with feathers” , by Emily Dickinson. Dickinson talks about hope and the meaning of hope. Hope gives you something to hold on. Hope is a factor that keeps you going. Hope is like your hero or your batman, hope saves you when you are in trouble. Why hope is like a hero is because it always saves you at the right time.. Hope will give you a hand when you are down and make you stronger each day because every time you get in a situation that hurts you, you learn even more.
I appreciate the usage the small bird as a symbol which can provoke such deep thoughts about our life. For me, the nightingale's song is the symbols of beauty which should be really enjoyed. It is this small bird who is free to fly wherever it wants to, singing its beautiful song and making the world better and nicer for us. I really like the whole idea of John Keats having a moment for himself listening to this sweet song and thinking about it and its originator. Our life can sometimes be a little bit stressful. People deals with stress in different kinds of way. One of them can be savouring of those moments that feels really nice, in which we can be left alone to our thoughts. I think that it is really important to always look on the brighter side of life. My life is sacred to me. I feel that people are given lives for some reason and it should be their duty to try to live in the best possible way. Those small moments, sometimes similar to the one John Keats experienced in the garden of his friend Charles Brown while listening to the nightingale5, are also important. These moments can compensate for the suffering which sometimes comes to our days. Life is a precious thing and we should savour it like the smallest breath of air. We should not waste our time and energy on bad things which will not matter in the end. One moment our life is in our lungs and in a few seconds it fades away.