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Anything Emily writes feels incomplete and terrible. Isolated in her study, she finally gives up, but right as she does, the smallest of things show her that hope is always there.

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Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

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To understand the themes and metaphors of Hope, I've read an analysis of the poem as well as some context about Dickinson herself.

Dickinson isolated herself in her family home, rarely venturing outside as she spent the majority of her time writing poetry. This poem shows how she thought hope was everywhere, especially in tough times. She loved birds so creating an extended metaphor between hope and birds was natural.

Source: https://owlcation.com/humanities/Analysis-of-Poem-Hope-Is-The-Thing-With-Feathers-by-Emily-Dickinson

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Andrew has a keen interest in all aspects of poetry and writes extensively on the subject. His poems are published online and in print.

Emily Dickinson And A Summary of Hope Is The Thing With Feathers

"Hope" Is The Thing With Feathers is one of the best known of Emily Dickinson's poems. An extended metaphor, it likens the concept of hope to a feathered bird that is permanently perched in the soul of every human. There it sings, never stopping in its quest to inspire.

Emily Dickinson wrote this poem in 1862, a prolific year for her poetry, one of nearly 1800 poems she penned during her lifetime. Only seven of these were published while she was still alive. Her sister Lavinia collected and helped publish all of her poems after Emily's death in 1886.

The Belle of Amherst, so called, remains an enigma. Her poetry was highly original but was dismissed or simply misunderstood when she sent her work out for appraisal or publication. It was only after she had passed away and her poems circulated more widely that critics began to appreciate her genius.

Her poems, together with those of Walt Whitman, were pioneering works that pointed the way to a new and refreshing era of poetry in the English speaking world.

Emily Dickinson seems to have been a recluse for most of her adult life, living at the family home, only rarely venturing out. Quiet and timid, she never married or actively sought a permanent relationship, despite correspondence with several older men she viewed as her protectors.

Her poetry however reflects a lively, imaginative and dynamic inner world; she was able to capture universal moments in a simple sentence, create metaphors that have stood the test of time.

Hope Is The Thing With Feathers stands out as a reminder to all - no matter the circumstances each and every one of us has this entity within that is always there to help us out, by singing.

Summary of Hope Is The Thing With Feathers

Full of figurative language, this poem is an extended metaphor, transforming hope into a bird (the poet loved birds) that is ever present in the human soul. It sings, especially when times get tough. Hope springs eternal, might be a reasonable summing up.

With typical disregard for convention, Emily Dickinson's odd looking syntax has clauses interrupted by dashes, and only one comma throughout. This can be confusing for the reader because of the need to pause and place extra emphasis on certain phrases.

The rhythm of the poem varies in places too, which may not be apparent on first sighting. Readily set to music, the words are a reminder of the poet's yearning for fulfilment in both creativity and love. And they beautifully encapsulate what hope is for us all - something that inspires and can make us fly.

314 "Hope" Is The Thing With Feathers

Analysis Stanza By Stanza

Emily Dickinson did not give titles to her poems so the first line is always given as the title. Her poems are also given numbers. In 1998 R.W.Franklin published a definitive version of her poems, closely following the poet's form and layout, and this poem is number 314.
First Stanza
The first word is given special emphasis with speech marks (inverted commas, quotation marks) as if the poet wants to define that elusive word "Hope", and she does so with metaphor. Hope has feathers and it can, like a bird, perch in the human soul. Feathers are soft and gentle to the touch but they are also strong in flight, even on tiny birds. And feathers are made up of complex individual fibres; unity is strength.

The imagery here grows stronger as the reader progresses. Not only is Hope feathery, it can sing. It sits on a perch and sings the whole time. But the song is special for there are no words, no diction for anyone to understand rationally.

It's as if Hope is pure song, pure feeling, a deep seated longing that can take flight at any time.

The song is endless. Note the double dash emphasis on - at all - and the stanza break which brings extra attention to these two little words.
Second Stanza
The first line is unusual in the use of the double dash - there are two distinct pauses which the reader has to be careful with. Hope is always singing as we know from the first stanza but it sings the sweetest when the going gets rough, when the Gale starts to blow. So, when life is hard and things are thrown at us, the pressure relentless, there is Hope, singing through the chaos and mayhem.

Note the first mention of the bird in line 7. It would take a hellish storm to embarrass or disconcert this bird (sore - angry and abash - embarrass) which protects many people from adverse situations. Hope is difficult to disturb, even when life seems hard.
Third Stanza
The personal pronoun I appears for the first time, indicating a personal connection to this subject perhaps? Emily Dickinson thought of herself as a little bird (a wren) so the link is direct.

The speaker has heard the bird during the hardest, coldest times, when emotions are churning and life surreal. But even when things are extreme Hope is still there and never asks for anything.

Hope gives us much but never asks for a crumb in return. It is all inspirational, yet slightly mysterious. Hope wells up in the heart and soul yet who knows where it comes from? Philosophy, religion, psychology and even metaphor are not sufficient - there is an abstract nature to Hope. It can give us strength to carry on in the most adverse of conditions. Its voice can be heard, despite the noise at the height of the storm.

Analysis of Hope Is The Thing With Feathers

Hope Is The Thing With Feathers is a short poem with three stanzas, each one a quatrain.

Rhyme

The rhyme scheme is abcb, the second and fourth lines rhyme full except for the half rhyme in the first stanza, soul/all.

2nd stanza - note the additional full rhyme of lines 1 and 3 (heard/bird) which helps tighten the mid section of the poem and places emphasis on the bird's ability to sing sweeter.
Syntax
Emily Dickinson used a lot of dashes in her poetry and this poem has a total of 15, which creates unusual syntax - the way the clauses fit together with punctuation, meter (metre in UK) and enjambment.

It's as if, for every breath she took whilst creating and reading through her lines, she wrote a dash, instead of, say, a comma. In addition, certain phrases are enclosed in a separate double dash, which places particular emphasis on meaning. Note: - at all - in the first stanza, and -in the Gale - in the second, plus - never - in the final stanza.

What is The Meter in Hope Is The Thing With feathers?

As with many of Emily Dickinson's poems, this one follows a basic iambic trimeter rhythm, with an extra syllable in the first and third lines of each stanza.

But there are lines that do not conform to the iambic beat.

so we have an opening trochee followed by two iambs and extra beat or feminine ending. Emphasis when reading falls on the opening word.

- Iambic trimeter continues in the second line.

- the 9th line could be scanned as iambic tetrameter.

note spondee, pyrrhic and two iambs in line 11.

Sources

Norton Anthology, Norton, 2005

www.loc.gov/poetry

The Poetry Handbook, John Lennard, OUP, 2005
© 2017 Andrew Spacey

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Analysis of Poem "Hope" Is The Thing With Feathers by Emily Dickinson

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Andrew has a keen interest in all aspects of poetry and writes extensively on the subject. His poems are published online and in print. "Hope" Is The Thing With Feathers is one of the best known of Emily Dickinson's poems. An extended metaphor, it likens the concept of hope to a feathered bird that is permanently perched in the soul of every human.

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A woman, depicting Dickinson, is in her study during the early morning, the room only lit by a lamp on her desk where she sits, and the glimpse of sunlight through the window. She appears to have been writing poetry for a while, with crumpled paper all around her. Quill in hand, the woman is still writing, seemingly having a tough time coming up with anything.

The morning sun starts to hit her and her work, and birds begin chirping, causing her to look out the window. The birds flying by cast shadows on the study, and the woman is filled with inspiration and hope. She continues writing, and this time it's Hope, with a narration of the extract.
(Ending TBD)

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A woman, depicting Dickinson, is in her study during the late evening, the room only lit by the moonlight through the window, and a dim light from inside the room. She appears to have been writing poetry for a while, with crumpled paper all around her. Pen in hand, the woman is still writing, seemingly having a tough time coming up with anything. She walks away from her work in frustration.

The morning sun starts to hit her as she lay on the floor, seemingly exhausted from the night before. She's awoken by the birds chirping outside. She decides to look out the window as the birds flying by cast shadows on her and the study, filling Emily with inspiration and hope. She picks up her quill and continues writing, and this time it's Hope, with a narration of the extract.

Satisfied with her work, she exits the room with a letter and more birds fly past.

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Calling Forth - To call something into action, like the outcome of feeling hopeful. Also referring to a bird 'call'.

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Biblio - 'Emily Dickinson, a profile of the secret poet' (2011): https://www.biblio.com/blog/2011/03/author-profile-emily-dickinson/#

Plant Talk - 'Emily Dickinson’s White Dress' (2010): https://www.nybg.org/blogs/plant-talk/2010/06/exhibit-news/emily-dickinson%E2%80%99s-white-dress/

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Francis Vinu - 'Lockdown' (2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jw-FcDdxSU8

Paul Wheeler - 'Digital Cinematography' (2001): https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/portsmouth-ebooks/reader.action?docID=296709&ppg=20

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The protagonist, and only character in 'Calling Forth' is Emily. She is a rendition of the source poem's writer, Emily Elizabeth Dickinson.

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“A step like a pattering child’s in entry & in glided a little plain woman with two smooth bands of reddish hair . . . in a very plain & exquisitely white pique & a blue net worsted shawl.” (Higginson, 1870)

Although not much is known about Dickinson's clothing, Thomas Wentworth Higginson's description of a white housedress and a blue shawl is believed to be about her. This dress is the only surviving garment thought to be owned by Dickinson - rarely changing into a day dress or visiting clothes - it's like today's sweatpants and t-shirt.

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Sony PXW-FS7 6 Lens Kit
Samyang 100mm f2.8 Macro Lens

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Kino Flo Freestyle
Basic Gel Kit

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Wally Dolly Complete Kit
ARRI Small 7kg Sandbag
C-Stand
Clapper Board
Haze Machine
Studio Flats
Bird Gobos

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I used this image as a reference to colour grade scene 1. The tone of blue in the image and the light source present a similar isolating feeling to what I intend with this part of my film.

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https://youtu.be/id9y722hPWI

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The following music was used for this project:

Music: Inspiring Noir Piano Waltz by MusicLFiles

Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/8785-inspiring-noir-piano-waltz

License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

I wanted a chaotic yet fitting within the suggested time period (around the 1860s). Switching to only ambient sound in Scene 2 makes the viewer, and Emily, slow down and connect more to the surroundings. This creates more contrast with Scene 1, in which the music adds to the rapid pace. It makes you focus on the natural sounds, including the bird songs and flapping of wings that act as encouragement for the character.

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As there was no dialogue in the film, only a voice-over narration, I decided to record Foley instead of recording audio on set.

I made note of all the sounds in the film, and recorded the Foley while watching the action. This helped a huge amount when editing it in, as I didn't have to spend a lot of time adjusting the timings of what I had recorded. I used the same process to do the voice-over.

I decided to use pre-recorded audio I found online for the bird calls and wings, as I was unsuccessful at recording this audio so that it was clean and sounded natural.

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I used DaVinci Resolve Studio to colour grade. This is because I am quite familiar with the interface and could work with the .MXF files I had.

Scene 1:
I wanted to present a night-time scene with lighting motivation from moonlight. Real moonlight is around the same colour temperature as sunlight, however, it's often shown as blue in American/British cinema (Wheeler, Paul. 2001). So, I decided to heighten the blue hues in the gain and gamma while keeping the warm rim light on Emily subtle but visible via the lift and red curves. I upped the contrast and lowered the gain significantly to make the lighting feel harsher.

Scene 2:
Completely different from the previous scene, I wanted a softer, brighter, more cheerful atmosphere. To achieve this, I balanced the levels but brought up the gamma slightly to make the image brighter overall. I increased the yellow-orange hue in the lift and gamma in order to make the light appear more like morning sunlight, giving the scene a golden wash.

Shadows cast by sunlight often appear slightly blue (Wheeler, Paul. 2001), so I increased the blue tones slightly in the gain and shadows to make it feel natural. This also helped to add a bit more contrast via colour.

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These were attached to skewers and moved across the front of the key light to make it look as though birds were flying outside the window.

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Old books from the library; and specifically printed book covers of books Emily Dickinson was known to read.
Shawl
Table
Chair
Tablecloth
Pieces of paper
Yarn-wrapped letters
Quill; pen
Pen/ink pot
Framed illustrated portrait