hope is the thing with feathers

Question 1

poet personified hope as a bird which

Answer 1

•”perches in the soul”, singing merrily, day and night

Question 2

song contains no words though

Answer 2

•plays through mediums, just like hope does in distressing situations

Question 3

in second stanza poet makes contradiction

Answer 3

•mentions possibility of hope fleeting away
•”And sore must be the storm - / That could abash the little Bird”

Question 4

what does contradiction in second stanza give

Answer 4

•small insight to the reader about the pets experience with hope and conveys that while hope is a strong force, even smthn like that itself can be taken away

Question 5

song of hope can be heard even in

Answer 5

•”in the strangest Sea -“ and in the “chillest land - “, which contradicts what was said beforehand

Question 6

hope never “asked a crumb - of Me.”

Answer 6

way in which Emily Dickinson used extended metaphor and vivid descriptions to describe hope is very intriguing and impressive

Question 7

hope is a vivid imagined character to show

Answer 7

•how important it is, both to individuals and humanity

Question 8

“Hope” “perches” in the soul, showing what

Answer 8

•the soul is hopes home
•hope is directly linked with the human spirit, sings without stop
•representation of humanity’s infinite capacity for hope

Question 9

metaphor of bird as hope does what

Answer 9

•shows dickinson originality at its peak
•cleve, ability to create thought provoking moments by taking abstract ideas and making them realistic for her readers