Emily Dickinson, Hope

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Wish, anticipate, long after, want; all these words can be used to reinstate one four letter word: hope. By definition the word hope means: Desire accompanied by expectation of fulfillment [ (Funk and Wagnalls Standard Desk Dictionary) ]. In Emily Dickinson’s poem, Hope, she utilizes her poetic ability in order to portray to the reader her personal meaning of the word hope. Within something merely written in twelve lines, Dickinson uses metaphor, diction, and tone to explain something that is not as easy to fully comprehend as it is to have. In Hope Dickinson metaphorically uses a bird to depict the word hope. Dickinson says, “‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers – that perches in the soul – and sings that tune without the words.” [ (Meyer) ]. When reading these first few lines of the poem you imagine one of God’s majestic creations: the beautiful blue bird. This blue bird is specifically placed outside your window singing that happy tune to put energy in your step during the morning. In this poem Dickinson did not choice to only portray the blissful elements of hope, but also the poignant elements. “And sore must be the storm – that could abash the little Bird – that kept so many warm.” [ (Meyer) ]. Yes, hope is one of the things that will help you endure the tunnel in order to reach the light at the end, but as we all know many times there is that wrong turn that’s going to make that light seem even further. That’s when the popular saying, “Do not crush my hopes,” comes in

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