"Hope" Is the Thing with Feathers

“‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers” is arranged into three four-line stanzas (quatrains) that alternate between iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter. This form is often called hymn meter because a large number of Christian hymns have been constructed around it. Historically, this shared meter has allowed churches to have a large repertoire of hymns that can be sung to the same piece of music. Those who perform the hymns, therefore, needed to master only a few songs in order to sing multiple hymns. Though Dickinson stopped attending church services by her early twenties, she wrote in hymn meter throughout her life. The use of hymn meter in “‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers” points towards a potential religious interpretation of the poem’s content.

The poem also deviates from hymn meter in interesting ways. The first foot of the poem, “‘Hope’ is,” (Line 1) for instance, places the emphasis on “Hope,” (Line 1) making the first foot a trochee instead of an iamb. This is likely to place greater emphasis on the first word, “Hope” (Line 1) as the object of investigation. This substitution also has the effect of building momentum into the definition of hope as “the thing with feathers” (Line ), as there are no stresses on any syllables between “Hope” (Line 1) and “thing” (Line 1). This creates a stumbling effect that potentially reflects the speaker’s own frustrated attempts at defining hope.

This frustration is also communicated through Dickinson’s use of dashes. Dickinson’s extensive dash use is unique among poets—particularly among her contemporaries. Dickinson’s dashes are sometimes, but not necessarily, used as punctuation. If her dashes, for instance, were understood as standard m- or n-dashes, the meaning of Line 11 would invert, and the word “never” (Line 11) would refer to “of me” (Line 12) in the next line, which renders the ending of the poem nonsensical. Often, instead, the dash is used to create caesurae, or a pause. This pause, at times, demonstrates the speaker’s hesitation. At other times, it provides space for reflection.