Poem Analysis Hope is the Thing with Feathers

Poem AnalysisHope is the Thing with Feathers

Hope is the Thing with Feathers • I. Form 1. Line: 12 lines 2. Stanza: 3 stanzas 3. Sentence: 3 sentences 4. Rhyme scheme: - Syllabic (音節的) rhyme: heard-bird, storm-warm, sea-extremity-me - Forced (勉強的) rhyme: feathers-words, soul-all

Hope is the Thing with Feathers 5. The literal meaning a. Line 5: “And sweetest in the gale is heard” What is heard in the gale? b.Line 6: “And sore must be the storm”  “The...” c. Line 9: “I’ve heard it in the chilliest land” What does “it” mean?

Hope is the Thing with Feathers 5. The literal meaning a. Line 5: “And sweetest in the gale is heard” Hope is heard sweetest in the gale. b.Line 6: “And sore must be the storm”  “The storm must be sore” c. Line 9: “I’ve heard it in the chilliest land” Here “it” means the tune that the bird sings (i.e. hope).

Hope is the Thing with Feathers • II. Point of View • Who is the speaker in the poem? • Who is he/she talking to? • What is he/she trying to say?

Hope is the Thing with Feathers • II. Point of View • Who is the speaker in the poem? It can be the poet herself. It can be a traveler. 2. Who is he/she talking to? It can be another case of talk-to-oneself. It is also likely that the speaker is encouraging someone who’s losing hope, or someone who questions what hope is. 3. What is he/she trying to say? Hope lies in our heart and it never asks us to pay any price for having hope. Hope can hardly fade away. Only under extreme circumstances might hope be gone.

Hope is the Thing with Feathers • III. Imagery (language that appeals to the five senses) WordsWhat sense appealed to

Hope is the Thing with Feathers • III. Imagery (language that appeals to the five senses) WordsWhat sense appealed to sings the tune sound heard sound warm feeling sore feeling chilliest feeling

Hope is the Thing with Feathers • IV. Figurative Language (metaphor, simile, personification, symbolism) Word/PhraseTypeWhat is being compared the thing w/ Metaphor Hope/bird (it sings, it flies) feathers sings the tune Person. w/o the words gale/ storm Symbolism Difficulties chilliest land/ Situations where one strangest sea finds it hard to survive crumb Reward?

Hope is the Thing with Feathers • V. Topic and theme • What is the subject matter? • What kind of attitude does the speaker have toward hope? According to the speaker, what is hope? Is it really like a bird? • Write a sentence or two on the truth about life that the poet is trying to communicate.

Hope is the Thing with Feathers • V. Topic and theme • It is about life and about what supports people under difficulties. • The speaker honors hope, something that is invaluable and invincible. It may share some characteristics of a bird, but even if it gets hungry, it doesn’t request any reward or price from people. Hope is self-sufficient(?) and truly self-less.

Hope is the Thing with Feathers • V. Topic and theme 3. (pretty much like the ideas in the previous slide.) Hope is in our heart. It can’t be found else where. As long as we believe its existence, it is there, especially in distress and adversities. The difficulties in life may be so immense that we will be left in extreme pain. But hope, throughout the time, has warmed so many hearts. It will definitely take good care of ours too. All we have to do is to listen, to find strength from within.

Hope is the Thing with Feathers • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quFE4B4iURs&feature=fvw a very short film • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73A6rBGDdAU a creepy song

Poem Analysis Hope is the Thing with Feathers