Question

Read Emily Dickinson’s poem “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.
What is the tone of the poem?


playful and joking


worried and troubled


bittersweet and hopeful


forceful and analytical


Description

Answer 1

Emily Dickinson’s poem 'Hope is the Thing with Feathers' has a tone that is bittersweet and hopeful, depicting hope as a resilient bird that sings in the soul and endures through challenges without asking for anything in return.

Step-by-step explanation:

The tone of Emily Dickinson’s poem “Hope is the Thing with Feathers” can be characterized as bittersweet and hopeful. The poem utilizes a metaphor, comparing hope to a bird that resides in the soul and continues to sing in every situation. This bird or hope is described as being resilient in the face of storms, never asking for anything in return. The tone is not playful or joking, nor is it worried and troubled or forceful and analytical. Instead, the poem exudes a gentle, uplifting message about the endurance of hope. As the bird endures through gales and storms, it represents the steadfast nature of hope through tough times.

Moreover, the imagery of the bird evokes a sense of freedom and lightness, despite the recognition of life's harsh realities, reinforcing the sense of perseverance and optimism that permeates the poem. Dickinson structured the poem in such a way that the flow and rhyme contribute to a feeling of continuity and resilience, mirroring the unwavering nature of hope itself.

Answer 2

Option 3, bittersweet and hopeful

Step-by-step explanation:

Hope is an abstract concept, which can be shaped in several ways. Emily Dickinson decides to attribute the idea of hope characteristics of a bird, which has feathers and "sings the tune without the words". This beautiful piece of poetry has a bittersweet and hopeful tone. The combination of sadness and happiness is a delicate feature of the poem. We can read about the sweetest song or tuning in contrast with the storm and hard conditions on this planet. However, in spite of the harshness of the world, hope has never "asked a crumb of me" which allows the reader to have a light of hope to face adversities.