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“‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers” is a short poem that consists of a single sentence sprawled out across three quatrains. Taken together, these quatrains trace an overall path from the abstract to the concrete, starting with a general idea of hope and ending with how the speaker experiences hope in his or her life. The first quatrain functions to introduce the poem’s extended metaphor, which associates the abstract concept of hope with a bird and its song. The second quatrain develops this metaphor by emphasizing the hope-bird’s resilience and the capacity of its song to be heard even in the most adverse conditions. In the third and final quatrain, the speaker shifts the focus from the abstract metaphor of the hope-bird to a discussion of his or her own personal experience of hope’s undying power.

In addition to the thematic movement from abstract concept to personal experience, Dickinson uses a unique formal strategy to structure the poem. This strategy relates to the shifting rhyme scheme that moves from a heterogenous form (ABCB) to a more homogenous form (ABBB). For more on this aspect of the poem’s structure, check out the essay on “Rhyme.”

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