Student Name

Mrs. X

English 8, Period 3

18 December 2010

In "Hope is the thing with feathers" by Emily Dickinson, there are many

formal elements included structure and literary devices. In the first stanza,

there is half rhyme at the end of each line, and in the second stanza, there is

rhyme in lines one and three and in lines two and four. Then in Stanza three,

there is rhyme in lines two and four. In addition, the entire poem acts as a

conceit, which compares a bird and its actions to the continuous power of

hope. At the end of the poem, Dickinson says that the bird never depended

on her. By using this, she shows that human being can always depend on

hope without the reverse happening. Dickinson also uses sound imagery to

describe how a bird's continuous song is similar to the warmth of hope by

showing that hope always exists. Throughout the poem, the formal elements

help define the meaning of the poem.

Throughout "Hope is the thing with feathers" by Emily Dickinson, she

uses the formal elements of her poem to suggest that hope will always exist

and will bring warmth to all without anything in return. At the end of stanza

one, the author describes the bird's song as a tune which "never stops-at

all-". This adds to the theme because she is comparing that song to the
lasting power of hope. She also says that the tune is the "sweetest-in the

Gale-is heard". By doing this, she suggests that the sweetness symbolizes

the rewarding sense of hope. In the end of the poem, the author says that in

tough times the bird "never asked a crumb-of Me". Dickinson uses this part

of the poem to relate that line to the fact that hope does not depend on

anyone, but people can depend on hope. Throughout the poem, Dickinson

uses the formal elements of her poem to reveal more about a theme of hope.