THE SHEAVES

DICKINSON’S POETRY

DICKINSON’S POETRY

Emily Dickinson

“ ‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers—...”

“Hope is the Thing with feathers” was first published in 1891.  Without ever actually using the word “bird” but once, Dickinson likens hope itself to a creature of flight.  The language of the first two lines suggests the weightlessness that hope brings with it: the upward motion of the wind ruffling through feathers; the lightness of a tiny bird on its perch, ready at a moment’s notice to flutter away. 

The poem sings of the robust, enduring nature of hope.  The picture of a tiny bird against gargantuan storms and gales reminds the reader of the immense power that even the smallest fragment of hope can hold, no matter how deep in the soul it is buried.  Dickinson contrasts the “chill[y],” “strange” possibilities of the world we all face with the sweetness and warmth of the little bird.

The tone of this poem is quite characteristic of Dickinson.  Although she spent much of her life in seclusion and her experiences were limited, she was a dreamer and many of her poems glowed with promise and possibility.  “’Hope’ is the thing with feathers” simply and eloquently acknowledges the enduring human capability for hope.

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) was born in Amherst, Massachusetts.  She lived a quiet, secluded life and suffered occasionally from bouts of depression.  Because the world she inhabited was small, her subject matter was limited but focused.  Her garden was one of her greatest passions and appeared often in her writing.  This seclusion also influenced her poetic voice – her poetry sings of the possibility of dreams not yet realized.  Very few of Dickinson’s poems were published when she was alive, and the depth of her poetry was not known until her family discovered her collection of poems after her death.  Today, Dickinson is one of the most appreciated American poets.  She is often admired for her efficient yet brilliant word choice and for defying the rigidity in form that limited many writers before her, though she leans heavily on Common (or hymnal) measure, with its 8-6-8-6 syllables and abab (however slant or subverted) rhyme.

Johnson’s edition of The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson is readily available (including with Amazon) and includes all 1775 of her poems.  Her letters are available in his edition of Final Harvest.

Summary

The speaker describes hope as a bird (“the thing with feathers”) that perches in the soul. There, it sings wordlessly and without pause. The song of hope sounds sweetest “in the Gale,” and it would require a terrifying storm to ever “abash the little Bird / That kept so many warm.” The speaker says that she has heard the bird of hope “in the chillest land— / And on the strangest Sea—”, but never, no matter how extreme the conditions, did it ever ask for a single crumb from her.

Form

Like almost all of Dickinson’s poems, “ ‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers—...” takes the form of an iambic trimeter that often expands to include a fourth stress at the end of the line (as in “And sings the tune without the words—”). Like almost all of her poems, it modifies and breaks up the rhythmic flow with long dashes indicating breaks and pauses (“And never stops—at all—”). The stanzas, as in most of Dickinson’s lyrics, rhyme loosely in an ABCB scheme, though in this poem there are some incidental carryover rhymes: “words” in line three of the first stanza rhymes with “heard” and “Bird” in the second; “Extremity” rhymes with “Sea” and “Me” in the third stanza, thus, technically conforming to an ABBB rhyme scheme.

Commentary

This simple, metaphorical description of hope as a bird singing in the soul is another example of Dickinson’s homiletic style, derived from Psalms and religious hymns. Dickinson introduces her metaphor in the first two lines (“ ‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers— / That perches in the soul—”), then develops it throughout the poem by telling what the bird does (sing), how it reacts to hardship (it is unabashed in the storm), where it can be found (everywhere, from “chillest land” to “strangest Sea”), and what it asks for itself (nothing, not even a single crumb). Though written after “Success is counted sweetest,” this is still an early poem for Dickinson, and neither her language nor her themes here are as complicated and explosive as they would become in her more mature work from the mid-1860s. Still, we find a few of the verbal shocks that so characterize Dickinson’s mature style: the use of “abash,” for instance, to describe the storm’s potential effect on the bird, wrenches the reader back to the reality behind the pretty metaphor; while a singing bird cannot exactly be “abashed,” the word describes the effect of the storm—or a more general hardship—upon the speaker’s hopes.

Dickinson is using metaphor of a small bird to carry her point that hope stays alive within us despite all of our troubles and, like a small bird that sings in the face of the strongest wind and most powerful storm, hope never asks for anything from us--it is just there to help us when we need it.

In the first stanza, Dickinson says that hope, like the bird singing a tune, doesn't necessarily speak to us in any conventional sense but is always present in us.  Most important from Dickinson's point of view is that hope "springs eternal" (a cliche, but true nonetheless), that is, hope is a permanent fixture of our being that allows us to conquer most of what life throws at us.

The second stanza deals with the power of hope:the more the wind howlsl and the storm rages, the sweeter is the bird's song.  The poet has a hard time imagining a storm so strong that it could overcome the power of the bird's song, so Dickinson would argue that hope, which has kept so many people from despair,  can overcome any suffering.

When Dickinson says in the third stanza that the little bird, despite having to endure "the chillest land" and "strangest sea," has never asked for any payment, Dickinson is simply reminding us of hope's inherent power--it is always there, requires no maintenance, and is strong enough to see us through our troubles.

The metaphorical use of natural elements--in this case, the small bird--is a hallmark of Dickinson's poetic technique.  Often, when Dickinson deals with relatively abstract concepts like hope, love, and death, she uses a concrete image from nature to make more real something that is difficult to "see."

GW English News: POEM OF THE DAY: MARY OLIVER’S “WILD GEESE”

GW English News: POEM OF THE DAY: MARY OLIVER’S “WILD GEESE”: Wild Geese You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles throug...

MARY OLIVER’S POEM “WILD GEESE” - AN ANALYSIS

Mary Oliver’s poem “Wild Geese” begins with a reminder to the reader, or a revelation to some, that we do not have to be good.  Whatever guilt, shame, whatever confessions we hold inside, can be let go. We do not always have to repent, either. Why? Because we, too, are animals like the wild geese. Instead of suffering, or spending our lives trying to find forgiveness, we only have to do what we love to do. This is a relief to the reader, and after reading the first few lines we are softened, ready for whatever comes next.

Then Oliver writes, “Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine…” Everybody has his or her own despair, everybody needs to be told we do not have to be good, everybody would have a reason to repent. Talking about our troubles can help us heal from them, and hearing other people’s pain can create a primal connection between two people, loyal and deep like the bond between birds.

“Meanwhile the world goes on.” The repetition of the word ‘meanwhile’ soothes and is, in the poem, cyclical like rainfall in natural. This is also how Oliver’s natural imagery comes through: the reader can see the movement of the rain across America, across the world even – like humans and wild geese, the rain also travels. The geese are travelling home again, but where is home? Are they flying ‘home’ south for the winter, or ‘home’ back north?

It is as if Oliver understands this question that her work asks, and so she writes, “Whoever you are, no matter how lonely…” Oliver has no specific direction that points toward home, but rather, notes that it does not matter where you call home. Oliver invites the reader to listen to what the world tells us, contrasting and comparing us with wild geese, who fly alone yet in an inclusive form, honking to keep in contact with each other in flight, connected in the “family of things.”

“Wild Geese” embodies everything that I value in a poem: captivating opening lines; carefully chosen and concise language; similes and repetition; natural imagery; enough room for the reader to understand Oliver’s point of view while still imposing their own; and ending lines that make the reader feel complete. Her work pulls the reader out of a moment in our pressured world, and puts us into another moment – one vastly more real, more understanding.

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN BY ROBERT FROST: SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS

Robert Frost: Poems Summary and Analysis of "The Road Not Taken" (1916)

The narrator comes upon a fork in the road while walking through a yellow wood. He considers both paths and concludes that each one is equally well-traveled and appealing. After choosing one of the roads, the narrator tells himself that he will come back to this fork one day in order to try the other road. However, he realizes that it is unlikely that he will ever have the opportunity to come back to this specific point in time because his choice of path will simply lead to other forks in the road (and other decisions). The narrator ends on a nostalgic note, wondering how different things would have been had he chosen the other path.

Analysis

This poem is made up of four stanzas of five lines, each with a rhyme scheme of ABAAB. Along with “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” this poem is one of Frost’s most beloved works and is frequently studied in high school literature classes. Since its publication, many readers have analyzed the poem as a nostalgic commentary on life choices. The narrator decided to seize the day and express himself as an individual by choosing the road that was “less traveled by.” As a result of this decision, the narrator claims, his life was fundamentally different that it would have been had he chosen the more well-traveled path.

This reading of the poem is extremely popular because every reader can empathize with the narrator’s decision: having to choose between two paths without having any knowledge of where each road will lead. Moreover, the narrator’s decision to choose the “less traveled” path demonstrates his courage. Rather than taking the safe path that others have traveled, the narrator prefers to make his own way in the world.

However, when we look closer at the text of the poem, it becomes clear that such an idealistic analysis is largely inaccurate. The narrator only distinguishes the paths from one another after he has already selected one and traveled many years through life. When he first comes upon the fork in the road, the paths are described as being fundamentally identical. In terms of beauty, both paths are equally “fair,” and the overall “…passing there / Had worn them really about the same.”

It is only as an old man that the narrator looks back on his life and decides to place such importance on this particular decision in his life. During the first three stanzas, the narrator shows no sense of remorse for his decision nor any acknowledgement that such a decision might be important to his life. Yet, as an old man, the narrator attempts to give a sense of order to his past and perhaps explain why certain things happened to him. Of course, the excuse that he took the road “less traveled by” is false, but the narrator still clings to this decision as a defining moment of his life, not only because of the path that he chose but because he had to make a choice in the first place.

 The Road not Taken by Robert Frost: Summary and Analysis

Here is a summary and analysis of ‘The Road not Taken’ by Robert Frost, the celebrated poem on making choices in life.

Robert Frost’s The Road not Taken is a beautiful poem about making choices in life. It discusses the very common situation of coming to the crossroads and not knowing which way to choose. Like all Frost poems it begins in delight and ends in wisdom.

One morning the poet came to a junction where two roads diverged in a yellow wood. He stood for a long time there, wondering which way to choose. He was sorry that he could not travel both roads. After considering the prospects of both roads, he took the second one because it was grassy and less travelled by. He kept the first road for another day. But he doubted if he should ever come back because one way leads to another way.

The poem ends quite dramatically when the poet hopes that later in his life he will be able to say with a sigh of relief that choosing the road less traveled by has made all the difference in his life. (Or, is it a sigh of dismay? The reader is left to guess for himself.)

Analysis of The Road not Taken: On the surface the poem is autobiographical, showing Frost’s bold choice to become a poet. He had tried his hands at many things and it was later in his life that he achieved success as a poet. But it is also philosophical, showing the great human dilemma in making a choice, especially when it is the road less traveled by. But many of the critics are of the opinion that Frost wrote the poem to make fun of a friend who would always procrastinate at the crossroads.

Traditional Elements in a Modernist Poem

There are several things in this poem that are usually seen in traditional, not modernist, poetry. First of all, you probably noticed that the poem rhymes. In fact, it follows a traditional rhyme pattern. What do I mean by that? Well, you'll notice that in each stanza there are five lines. The first, third and fourth lines rhyme with each other, and the second and fifth lines rhyme with each other. This type of rhyme pattern is usually summed up as 'ABAAB.' The 'A's represent the lines that rhyme with each other; likewise, the two lines that are labeled 'B' rhyme with each other.

Besides rhyme, the poem has a traditional meter, or rhythm. Each line has a specific number of syllables, and certain syllables are stressed when they are read. Meter is something that Frost liked to use a lot, even when he didn't use rhyme.

This poem follows a traditional, not a modernist rhyme pattern.

A third, and very important, element in this poem that is not normally seen in modernist poetry is its use of natural imagery. The poem is about someone alone in the woods, and all the descriptions are of nature. Though most modernist poets did not spend a lot of time describing nature, Frost lived in a rural setting, and most of his poems focused on nature.

Contradiction and Interpretation in the Poem

So with all those elements of traditional poetry, what makes this poem modern? Well, for one thing, the language is very basic. But the most important modernist elements of this poem have to do with the poem's meaning: there are a lot of things that aren't clear in the poem, and the mood of the poem is not necessarily uplifting. First, let's look at the way Frost makes the poem unclear. In the second stanza, he describes one of the paths as 'grassy and wanted wear.' In other words, fewer people had gone down that path than the other path.

But almost immediately, he contradicts himself: the next lines say that the two paths were worn 'really about the same.' And at the beginning of the next stanza, he says that both paths 'equally lay/In leaves no step had trodden black.' So not only were both paths free of the footsteps of people, they were both covered in leaves, despite the fact that he had just described one of them as grassy. And the story changes again in the famous last words of the poem:

'The Road Not Taken' by Robert Frost is a well-known poem about the journey of life. This lesson will cover a brief summary of the poem, analyze its major theme, and test your knowledge with a quick quiz.

Poem Summary

Have you ever found yourself caught between a rock and a hard place, trying to make a difficult decision? Maybe you've had to choose between two equally desirable things, like following a career path to become an astronaut or a doctor. You may have considered the different paths of study or activity each choice would lead you down. We've all been faced with challenging decisions in our lives, and sometimes the difficulty of making those decisions arises from the fear of not knowing if what we choose is right, or what will happen as a result of our choice.

Well, the famous American poet, Robert Frost, once wrote a poem that describes this feeling exactly. 'The Road Not Taken', first published in 1916, is perhaps Frost's most famous poem. The final lines in particular, 'Two roads diverged in a yellow wood and I - I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference', are often quoted and referred to as inspirational words that challenge us to overcome obstacles in life.

The poem describes someone standing at a fork, or turning point, in a road in the woods, trying to decide which path he's going to take. He looks down one road as far as he can see, and after thinking for another minute, decides to take the other one because it looks like nobody's been that way yet, and he's curious about where it leads.

He thinks maybe he might come back another day and try out the other path but has a feeling that the road he's chosen will lead him to new places and discoveries, and he probably won't be back. He thinks wistfully about that road, the road not taken, and where he might have wound up if he'd gone that way instead. Part of him regrets his decision, but he also realizes that the things he's seen and the places he's gone because of the direction he chose has made him who he is.

The Poem's Theme

'The Road Not Taken' is more than a poem about someone trying to decide which road he's going to take on a stroll through the woods. It's actually a poem about the journey of life. The two roads diverged in a yellow wood symbolize a person's life. The narrator's choice about which road to take represents the different decisions we sometimes have to make and how those decisions will affect the future. Think of the expression, 'down the road', that we often use to describe something that might happen months or even years from now, and you'll see how Frost is making the connection between life and traveling.

Frost captures the uncertainty about making decisions and our natural desire to know what will happen as a result of the decisions we make in the first stanza of the poem:

'Two roads diverged in a yellow wood

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth'

Here, Frost uses the bend in the road as a metaphor for what the narrator wishes he could see but ultimately can't make out in the undergrowth. The narrator eventually decides to take the other road because it really doesn't matter; whichever path he chooses, he has no way of knowing where he's going to end up.

The only difference between the two roads is that the one the narrator chooses in the second stanza is 'grassy and wanted wear'; in other words, it doesn't look like anyone's taken it before or in a long time. At this point in the poem, Frost tries to encourage readers to overcome the fear of the unknown: someone has to be the first person to try a new thing. Just think about what has happened when men and women have boldly gone where no men and women have gone before.

POEM COMPREHENSION - ME ON A HIGH WIRE

ME ON A HIGH WIRE

                         by John McInnes

Me on a high wire,

Setting out surely,

Making each movement

Seem easy and safe.

You down below me,

Sensing my caution,

Hoping each movement

Is easy and safe.

 Me on a high wire,

 Costumed and spotlit,

Full concentration

 On each balanced move.

You down below me,

Tensing and motionless,

Full concentration

On each balanced move.

Me on a high wire,

Letting a foot slip

Only a fraction,

 Awakening  your fear.

 Me, the performer,

Taking my chances,

Exciting my talent

 To share  it with you.

You the observer,

Cheering me silently,

 Sharing success with me,

Eyeing  me on.

 Me on a high wire,

Taking the last step,

Stretching to finish

My  journey  for us.

You down below me,

Gasping, applauding me,

 Sending a thank you

For  what  I have done.

 Me bowing, thank you

For letting me share it—

The feel of the high wire,

The feel of performing—

 High performance!

1. What central idea does the poem illustrate?

 A. the dangers of the high wire act

B. the performer’s relationship to the audience

 C. how exciting watching a high wire act can be

 D. how the performer must concentrate to balance

 2. Which of the following adjectives best describes the performer?

 A. hopeful

B. grateful

C. nervous

D. confident

3. Why does the poet alternate the stanzas between “Me” and “You”?

A. to show that the audience is afraid

B. to link the performer to the observer

C. to demonstrate the performer’s bravery

D. to emphasize the distance between the performer and the audience

4. Which line in the poem most strongly suggests that the performer deliberately tries to play with the audience’s feelings?

A. “Sensing my caution”

B. “Letting a foot slip”

 C. “Taking the last step”

 D. “Stretching to finish”

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TALKING ABOUT THINGS YOU HAVE DONE AND YOU WANT TO DO

TALKING ABOUT THINGS YOU HAVE DONE AND YOU WANT TO DO

I have + (past participle)

This structure is used to talk about things that you have done in the past.

·         I’ve done it.

·         I’ve tried parasailing.

·         I have visited Australia.

·         She has acted in a film.

·         I’ve watched that film.

·         She’s written several books.

·         I’ve written twelve letters since morning.

·         I’ve been to this place before.

·         I’ve seen him before.

Talking about things you want to do

I wanna + (verb)

The structure wanna is the conversational equivalent of want to. The structure I wanna can be used to talk about things you want to do.

·         I wanna talk to you. (= I want to talk to you.)

·         I wanna find a job. (= I want to find a job.)

·         I wanna marry you. (= I want to marry you.)

·         I wanna try this food. (= I want to try this food.)

The structure ‘don’t wanna’ is used to talk about things that you don’t want to do.

·         I don’t wanna accept this job. (= I don’t want to accept this job.)

·         I don’t wanna marry you. (= I don’t want to marry you.)

·         I don’t wanna meet him. (= I don’t want to meet him.)

Talking about things you have to do

I gotta + (verb)

The word gotta is the conversational equivalent of got to. In conversation I gotta is often used instead of I have got to.

·         I gotta get up early tomorrow. (= I have got to get up early tomorrow.)

·         I gotta win her trust. (= I have got to win her trust.)

·         I gotta get my car repaired. (= I have got to get my car repaired.)