Hope is a strange invention

Hope, which can be both a noun and a verb, refers to a desire or an expectation. To “hope” for something means to anticipate something that one desires. Hope, according to the poem’s third-person speaker, is a “strange invention” (Line 1). An “invention” typically refers to something man-made or constructed, something that isn’t naturally occurring. “Strange” refers to something peculiar that is different from what is expected. According to our speaker, therefore, hope is a rather unusual, odd, unnatural fabrication.

Hope is referred to as a “Patent” in Line 2. The contemporary understanding of a “patent” is documentation protecting the proprietary rights to an invention, trademark, brand, or other property. However, the Oxford English Dictionary traces the usage of this word back to 1387–1395 with Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. In this respect, “patent” refers to a document conferring a right or privilege. Figuratively, the Oxford English Dictionary also states that “patent” could refer to a “quality or tendency that is characteristic of someone in particular” (“patent.” Oxford English Dictionary, 2022). When the speaker notes that the abstract notion of hope is specifically “A Patent of the Heart” (Line 2), they mean that hope is an attribute or characteristic specifically associated with this part of the body. Hope is the heart’s property. By referring to the “Heart” (Line 2) as the origin of this concept, the speaker implies that hope is born from passion and feeling, specifically love, all commonly associated with the “Heart.” Through capitalizing “Patent” and “Heart” in this second line, the speaker conveys added significance to them and draws readers’ eyes to these nouns.

If hope is born from an individual’s center of emotion and passion and is “In unremitting action” (Line 3), the speaker argues that hope is constantly being employed. It is unceasingly at play in any and all situations, always working to help the “Heart” that possesses it remain optimistic and open. Despite the fact that hope is constantly employed without respite, it does so without “wearing out” (Line 4). Hope keeps working without depleting its stores of energy. Because it has its seat in the “Heart,” this is where hope appears to collect its energy—from this bodily component. In turn, hope feeds the person, the body, like a feedback loop. Hope exists in its own self-sustaining system.

In Line 5, the speaker refers to hope as “this electric Adjunct.” When used as a noun, an “adjunct” refers to a person associated with another; an assistant; a subordinate; or alternatively, something which is joined or connected to something else and dependent upon it. Claiming that hope is an “Adjunct” (Line 5) refers to its association with the “Heart” (Line 2). Hope is joined to the “Heart” and relies on the emotion and passion that comes from the heart as sustenance. By referring to hope as an “electric” (Line 5) subordinate/dependent/auxiliary, the speaker asserts that hope is very bright and charged with strong, exciting emotion.

The speaker then claims that nothing “is known” (Line 6) about hope. However, the speaker has already described the nature of hope in the preceding lines. The speaker describes hope’s “unique momentum” (Line 7). “Momentum” refers to motion, to the force or strength gained by motion or by a series of events. This implies that the stronger hope becomes, the more often it is used. Because hope is constantly in motion and at work, hope can be a formidable power to go up against. With this forward motion and force, hope also serves to “Embellish all we own” (Line 8). To “embellish” something is “to make beautiful with ornamentation.” Hope adorns everything humans do in life. It enhances everything said, done, or thought. Hope infiltrates every aspect of life, unable to be avoided or ignored.