Emily Dickinson: "Hope" is the thing with feathers

 
 

“Hope” is the thing with feathers

“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.

Discussion Questions

  • What strikes you about Emily’s Dickinson’s representation of hope?

  • Dickinson’s hope “never - in Extremity” asks a “crumb” of her. How do you interpret these lines, and do they reflect your own conception of hope?

  • How does Centolella’s hope contrast with Dickinson’s?

  • What do these poems reveal about how we find and maintain hope through difficult times?

Reflections from #MedHumChat

“On a second read I really like the lines "And sore must be the storm/That could abash the little bird." Reminds us that extinguishing hope is a tragedy with real consequences, and shows us how protective hope really can be”—@preranachatty

“Dickinson’s hope faces every extremity without need: it asks for neither food nor tenderness but can weather and sing through every storm. I aspire to this kind of hope but find, especially these days, that it takes every effort to sustain. My hope needs food.”—@anoushkaasinha

“I agree that fostering hope takes a lot of emotional energy, especially now. But perhaps this poem can teach us to try to let go, to take hope as a given and see what happens if we let it in?”—@HannaSaltzman

“Is there maybe something almost whimsical--the feathers, the perching, the crumb--to suggest that hope comes and sustains you not according to any logic that you can plan--or necessarily sustain--especially in extremity”—@PerriKlass

About this #MedHumChat

“‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers” was paired with the poem “The Hope I Know” by Thomas Centolella for a #MedHumChat discussion on May 6, 2020 exploring Maintaining Hope.

The pieces for this chat as well as the accompanying discussion questions were curated by Anoushka Sinha, MD (@anoushkaasinha).

We were honored that Perri Klass, MD (@PerriKlass) could join as a special guest for this discussion. Perri Klass, MD is a pediatrician who writes fiction and non-fiction covering a range of topics including children and families, medicine, food and travel, and knitting.

About the Author

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) was an American poet whose first volume of poems was not published until four years after her death, at which time it was met with stunning success. She is well-known for the originality of her poetic style.