"Hope" is the Thing With Feathers by Kay Nguyen [FVHS]

SIFT 9 - Theme

kmnguyen114 — 2015-02-12 00:20:27 UTC

The theme of "'Hope' is the Thing With Feathers" is that hope always surrounds us. The author tells readers that the "bird" (or hope) is always there for you, even through the darkest times. Hope can help one overcome a serious obstacle or minuscule issue in their life, and it will always be there when it is needed.

SIFT 10 - Title

kmnguyen114 — 2015-02-12 00:22:50 UTC

The title is significant because birds represent and symbolize hope. They mention birds widely throughout the poem, and they use a bird picture as a visual representation of the poem. Just like birds, hope is everywhere.

SIFT 4 - Symbols

kmnguyen114 — 2015-02-12 03:36:18 UTC

There are many symbols portrayed throughout the poem. The main symbol mentioned is a bird. Through the title and metaphors, readers understand that the author is convincing us that a bird is symbolic of hope. In addition, the author expressed the idea of feelings of hope that continue inside of us through the bird's tune. To represent the negative and "chillest" moments in our lives, Dickinson used storms and seas.

SIFT 5 - Summarize

kmnguyen114 — 2015-02-12 03:41:05 UTC

The poem "'Hope' is the Thing with Feathers" describes how birds parallel to hope in humans. The first stanza expresses the idea of a bird that "perches in the soul" and "sings the tune without words--and never stops." This represents the idea of hope always being present inside of your soul. The poem continues by telling readers that nothing could phase the bird, even when one goes through horrible times in their life. And although the bird supplies an endless amount of optimism, it never asks for something in return.

SIFT 6 - Imagery

kmnguyen114 — 2015-02-12 03:44:43 UTC

Imagery examples in this poem were described through the idea of portraying hope as a bird. The author relates the idea of optimism to a bird perching in one's soul, never stopping its song of hope. In order to illustrate ideas of hard times in one's life, Dickinson uses metaphors like "chillest land" and "strangest Sea" to paint a picture of a dark scene. Furthermore, the author uses "crumb" to assist readers in imagining how little the "bird" asks from the one it is perched in.

SIFT 7 - Figurative Language

kmnguyen114 — 2015-02-12 05:44:29 UTC

Hope is attributed to a bird('s feathers) due to their similar
attributes--It can come from afar and appear even in the most unlikely
scenario. The poem also talks of a storm--symbolizing despair-- that cannot completely ward off
the bird of "hope".

SIFT 8 - Tone

kmnguyen114 — 2015-02-12 05:47:37 UTC

As the poem suggests, the author speaks of the bird of hope in an enlightening way.
"Even when a storm approaches, or when one is in a 'strange, chilling land', hope can never
abandon an individual," to put it in simpler terms.

SOCIAL CONNECTION/CURRENT SOCIETY

kmnguyen114 — 2015-02-16 23:32:19 UTC

The poem connects to society because hope exists throughout it. In the poem, Emily Dickinson is comparing the hope in the soul with a bird. The bird never stops singing, even when it has no words, meaning people should be optimistic and hopeful even in the worst situations. The poem states that even the roughest storms can't keep the bird from its singing. Like the bird, we shouldn't let our storms, or personal problems, keep us from going on. In the final lines of the poem it tells society that the bird didn't ask for a crumb, meaning society should not ask for thing

SIFT 1 - Structure

kmnguyen114 — 2015-02-18 03:18:02 UTC

This poem is a extended metaphor, and it contains 12 lines.

SIFT 2 - Sound Devices

kmnguyen114 — 2015-02-18 03:18:23 UTC

Some sound devices noticed in this poem was the rhyme scheme ABABCDCDEFEF. There is the use of metaphors and it draws attention to specific words because it emphasizes the words more.

SIFT 3 - Speaker

kmnguyen114 — 2015-02-18 03:20:41 UTC

There is no specific speaker or point of view. There is a general audience.

"HOPE" IS THE THING WITH FEATHERS

kmnguyen114 — 2015-02-18 04:01:21 UTC

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

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

kmnguyen114 — 2015-02-23 02:19:32 UTC

kmnguyen114 — 2015-02-23 06:21:14 UTC

kmnguyen114 — 2015-02-23 06:22:26 UTC