Poetry Research Paper No matter how bad things may seem, there is always hope for things to ameliorate. When people believe that the future will be promising, they can have something to look forward to as opposed to dwelling on the past or the problems of the present. This hope can give a person a positive outlook on life and motivate him or her to look past what is happening in the present. In the poems “Hope is the Thing with Feathers” by Emily Dickinson and “The Darkling Thrush” by Thomas Hardy, they both convey similar messages about hope. Both works display the theme of hope being present at all times no matter how bad things may seem and is a consistent option for anyone in need of help. In “Hope is the Thing with Feathers,” the message delivered is that hope is present to any person. Dickinson writes, “And sweetest in the gale is heard,” (5) which displays an image of a bird’s song being heard above the sounds of the storm. This shows how even in the worst situations one can look forward to the future where all this persons problems are resolved. Hope is the most beneficial when it is needed most. Therefore, it is available to anyone no matter who they are or how they live. In this poem, the speaker says, “yet, never, in extremity, / it asked a crumb of me” (11-12). If a person hopes for something, he or she doesn’t need to offer anything in return for what hope has given them. By using a crumb as an example of how hope comes without any pay, it is shown that “hope” does not need even the smallest possible reward for the good that it brings. It is a feeling and therefor, appeals to everyone. By using a bird as a symbol for hope, Dickinson conveys the message that hope is continuous in a way that is easily understood b... ... middle of paper ... ...ks Cited "Emily Dickinson Poem Analysis." Essortment. Demand Media Network, 2011. Web. 5 April. 2014. . Rumens, Carol. "Poem of the Week: The Darkling Thrush, by Thomas Hardy." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 28 Dec. 2009. Web. 5 April. 2014. . "The Darkling Thrush Symbolism, Imagery & Wordplay." Shmoop. Shmoop University, Inc. Web. 5 April. 2014. . Vendler, Helen. Dickinson: Selected Poems and Commentaries. President and Fellows of Harvard College, 2010. 118-20. Google Books. Google. Web. 5 April. 2014. .
The future is a series of unexpected chapters in our lives packed with thrilling mysteries and remarkable miracles. Although the future may blossom with new, budding experiences, unforgettable tragedies and misfortunes can alter an individual's life. Refraining from grief takes plenty of courage and determination to overcome. As an individual with numerous experiences and involvements throughout my life, I strongly believe that our hopes and beliefs are exceptionally powerful. Throughout The Book Thief ,there are plenty of reasons to support the countless themes that are mentioned in this book. However, I was intrigued by the symbolization of hope, how it had affected the characters and their surroundings, as well as their belief in hope.
Edgar Allan Poe tells the story of a bereaved man who is grieving for his lost love in the poem, “The Raven.” During a dark and gloomy night, the man hears a knock at his door. Hoping that it is Lenore, his dead lover, coming back to him, he goes to open the door. Unfortunately, he is only met with emptiness and disappointment. Shortly after, a raven flies into the room through the window and lands on the bust of Pallas. The man begins to converse with this dark and mysterious bird. In response to everything the man says, the raven repeats one dreadful word: “Nevermore.” The symbolism of the raven being connected to death, and the man’s interaction with the dark bird reveals to readers that he is going through the stages of dying. Subsequently, the repetition of the bird’s one worded reply makes it known that the man will never see Lenore again because there is no afterlife.
“…but the raven winging/ darkly over the doomed will have news, / tidings for the eagle of how
While buried, so deep beneath the cavity of adversity, finding hope is nearly impossible. But, it is the ability of decisions that aids as the last gleam of hope retrievable. After facing many struggles, it becomes almost involuntary for someone to put up a guard. With using that strategy, and the transgression of time without progress, there’s a certain ignition of comprehension. Change needs to occur, and a complete remedy of that
In “Hope is the thing with feathers”, hope is heard in troubled times and warms the soul, but isn’t always rational. The poem says hope, “perches in the soul” (2). Hope is described as constant, and as an irrefutable part of us. But the ‘perching’ bird controls us, its ‘claws’ on our heart, and we feel compelled to never give up our dreams. Hope is also, “sweetest-in the Gale” (5). People cling to hope when life is hard, and hope is welcome when all else has failed. Hope comes to people anytime, anywhere. However pleasing hope is, it, “sings the tune without the words” (3). Hope is attractive, and promises much, but there are no words to back up the tune, and is mostly something to keep one’s soul going, not something that will ever amount to anything or deliver on its promises. It is alluring to gamble everything on hope, but in the end, there aren’t any ‘words’, and you’ll always lose. Anyone can be both warmed and deluded by hope.
“Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope! A belief in things not seen. A belief that there are better days ahead.” President Obama’s 2004 keynote speech gives a timeless message of hope that especially resonates with minorities who face an uncertain future. Similarly, in her novel Beloved, Toni Morrison develops the theme that hope in the face of forced dehumanization, through the relationship between darkness and light, gives the oppressed a purpose and the ability to overcome and thrive despite persecution.
What we hope for is not always what we need. This is prevalent in the novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston where the characters have his or her dream crushed for the sake of fate. This is especially true for Janie who strives throughout the novel to have her dream of “the pear tree” realized, and Hurston shows this using a variation of metaphor, imagery, and personification.
Annie Dillard portrays her thoughts differently in her passage, incorporating a poetic sense that is carried through out the entire passage. Dillard describes the birds she is viewing as “transparent” and that they seem to be “whirling like smoke”. Already one could identify that Dillard’s passage has more of poetic feel over a scientific feel. This poetic feeling carries through the entire passage, displaying Dillard’s total awe of these birds. She also incorporates word choices such as “unravel” and that he birds seem to be “lengthening in curves” like a “loosened skein”. Dillard’s word choice implies that he is incorporating a theme of sewing. As she describes these birds she seems to be in awe and by using a comparison of sewing she is reaching deeper inside herself to create her emotions at the time.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is extensively a story of hope. Hope is to wish for something with expectation of its fulfilment and to have confidence; trust. This is shown through the themes, issues and the characters in the novel. Atticus represents hope, he is optimist. He is from the higher class and defends the lower class and still has the anticipation to win. The Finch family has hope as Atticus has taught his children to be accepting and have open-minds. Racism and prejudice, give people the hope for change. For one day there be a world that is fair and equal. Hope comes in many shapes and forms, including the children, Atticus, and themes, akin to racism and prejudice, although hope present throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird.
Emily Dickinson became legendary for her preoccupation with death. All her poems contain stanzas focusing on loss or loneliness, but the most striking ones talk particularly about death, specifically her own death and her own afterlife. Her fascination with the morose gives her poems a rare quality, and gives us insight into a mind we know very little about. What we do know is that Dickinson’s father left her a small amount of money when she was young. This allowed her to spend her time writing and lamenting, instead of seeking out a husband or a profession. Eventually, she limited her outside activities to going to church. In her early twenties, she began prayed and worshipped on her own. This final step to total seclusion clearly fueled her obsession with death, and with investigating the idea of an afterlife. In “Because I could not stop for Death”, Dickinson rides in a carriage with the personification of Death, showing the constant presence of death in her life. Because it has become so familiar, death is no longer a frightening presence, but a comforting companion. Despite this, Dickinson is still not above fear, showing that nothing is static and even the most resolute person is truly sure of anything. This point is further proven in “I heard a Fly buzz”, where a fly disrupts the last moment of Dickinson’s life. The fly is a symbol of death, and of uncertainty, because though it represents something certain—her impending death—it flies around unsure with a “stumbling buzz”. This again illustrates the changing nature of life, and even death. “This World is not Conclusion” is Dickinson’s swan song on the subject of afterlife. She confirms all her previous statements, but in a more r...
Dickinson, Emily. The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson. Ed. Thomas H. Johnson. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1960.
It was also said that Dickinson wrote 1175 poems only which, 11 were published. One of the many poems that Dickinson wrote and stood out was the poem “Hope”. The word hope alone has great meaning behind it and when she follows it with “is the thing with feathers” I am under the impression that she is referring to hope as being a bird since, a bird is free and can go anywhere it desires.
Thomas Hardy’s The Darkling Thrush, is a poem full of much sorrow. It is dark and bleak, just as it’s title is. Although it is so unhappy, it is also very deep. This poem is one of the many example’s of Hardy’s talent.
R.W.Franklin. “’Hope’ is the thing with feathers –.” The Poems of Emily Dickinson. Harvard University Press. N.e. 1999. 314. Print.
“A Bird came down the Walk,” was written in c. 1862 by Emily Dickinson, who was born in 1830 and died in 1886. This easy to understand and timeless poem provides readers with an understanding of the author’s appreciation for nature. Although the poem continues to be read over one hundred years after it was written, there is little sense of the time period within which it was composed. The title and first line, “A Bird came down the Walk,” describes a common familiar observation, but even more so, it demonstrates how its author’s creative ability and artistic use of words are able to transform this everyday event into a picture that results in an awareness of how the beauty in nature can be found in simple observations. In a step like narrative, the poet illustrates the direct relationship between nature and humans. The verse consists of five stanzas that can be broken up into two sections. In the first section, the bird is eating a worm, takes notice of a human in close proximity and essentially becomes frightened. These three stanzas can easily be swapped around because they, for all intents and purposes, describe three events that are able to occur in any order. Dickinson uses these first three stanzas to establish the tone; the tone is established from the poet’s literal description and her interpretive expression of the bird’s actions. The second section describes the narrator feeding the bird some crumbs, the bird’s response and its departure, which Dickinson uses to elaborately illustrate the bird’s immediate escape. The last two stanzas demonstrate the effect of human interaction on nature and more specifically, this little bird, so these stanzas must remain in the specific order they are presented. Whereas most ...