Final answer:
Emily Dickinson's 'Hope is the Thing with Feathers' uses a bird metaphor to describe hope, underscoring its resilience, enduring power, and transformative potential, and relating it to the natural world. Option a.
Step-by-step explanation:
In Emily Dickinson's poem Hope is the Thing with Feathers, the descriptions of nature are closely intertwined with the thematic representation of hope. The image of a bird, specifically a creature with feathers that perches in the soul, provides a vivid metaphor for hope.
This metaphor emphasizes the qualities of hope, such as its ability to lift spirits and provide comfort without asking for anything in return. The bird's continuous song, despite harsh conditions, reflects the resilience and enduring power of hope (option b).
The bird metaphor also suggests hope is inherent and ever-present in the human spirit, much like birds are a natural, integral part of the world around us (option d).
Moreover, the poem's structure, with its rhythmic and melodic qualities, may mirror popular nineteenth-century songs, which can help readers connect with the emotions and themes presented within.
The metaphor of hope as a bird with feathers not only provides an image of delicacy and frailty (option a) but also encapsulates the uplifting and transformative potential of hope (option c), illustrating how it enables individuals to rise above their circumstances.
Option a,