Emily Dickinson is considered one of the most influential American poets of all time. However, she was not always perceived in this light. Dickinson dropped out of school as a teenager and lived a reclusive life on her family farm until her death in 1886. She chose this lifestyle due to her fragile emotional state that was caused from her unfortunate romantic relationships (“Emily Dickinson”). During this time, it seemed she learned perseverance and how to cope with troublesome, despairing times through her poetry. In the poem,“Hope is the thing with feathers,” Emily Dickinson uses imagery, diction, personification, and symbolism to develop an overall theme of perseverance.
Dickinson uses imagery to paint the picture of hope as a bird. Many people view birds as symbols of freedom and independence because of their ability to fly and migrate to a new location in order to live freely. In the second line of the poem, Dickinson says,
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The poem states, “I’ve heard it in the chillest land” (line 9). Using the word “chillest” provides a negative connotation towards obstacles one may face in one’s lifetime. When one reads the word “chillest,” the sense of isolation and frigidness overtakes the reader. The feeling of isolation encourages the reader to develop a desire and hope for happiness. This line demonstrates how the poet’s diction explores the reader’s ability to feel as though one is capable of moving forward even in dark times. Diction is also present in the sixth line, “And sore must be the storm”(line 6). The word “sore” explains how complications arise in an attempt to prevent hope from overcoming issues of the onerous battle it has to face. The difficult battle attempts to destroy hope, but shows perseverance because hope always finds a way to defeat its