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“Hope Is The Thing With Feathers” by Emily Dickinson

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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.

-Emily Dickinson

Enjoy Artistic Representations of “Hope Is The Thing With Feathers” by Emily Dickinson

figure plays the lyre and sits atop the world blindfolded.

Hope by George Frederic Watts, 1885.

 

woman wearing a white dress perched next to an anchor with a positive look on her face

Louisa as Hope by Thomas Lawrence, 1830.

Listen to these Readings of “Hope Is The Thing With Feathers”

Listen to these Musical Interpretations of “Hope Is The Thing With Feathers” by Emily Dickinson

About Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson estate-Amherst Massachusetts

Emily Dickinson estate in Amherst Massachusetts

Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst, MA, in 1830, the daughter of state and federal politician Edward Dickinson. A prolific poet, Dickinson was known to draft poems on the backs of envelopes and chocolate wrappers. Nearly 1800 of her poems were discovered by her family following her death, many in 40 handbound volumes she had sewn together, written in her own hand with her famously unorthodox punctuation.

Emily Dickinson and Susan Gilbert portrait

Emily Dickinson & Susan Gilbert

The enigmatic poet is remembered as a recluse, rarely leaving the Dickinson estate. While she did receive callers at her home, conversations were often held from opposite sides of a closed door.

She lived with her sister, Lavinia, while her brother Austin and his wife, Susan Gilbert, lived down a narrow path on the property. Her writing reflects profound loneliness as well as a deep capacity for love and affection, much of which is believed to have been shared with Gilbert.

Her first collection of poems, Poems by Emily Dickinson, was published four years after her death, with Poems: Second Series and Poems: Third Series following in the next several years.

Emily Dickinson gravestone-"called back"

“Called Back”

Like Walt Whitman (who she reportedly never read), she is considered one of the most influential poets in the emergence of a distinctly American poetic voice.

She was born on December 10, 1830, and today visitors to Emily Dickinson’s grave can witness a lasting image of her perspective on life. The etching on her stone marking the date of her death—May 15, 1886—bears the words “Called Back.”

in memorium emily dickinson cemetary
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