Practice Essay

“Poets often withhold certitude, which can at the same time empower readers to think creatively.”Consider a poem you have studied in which ambiguity has enabled readers to reach their own conclusions about meaning and implications. Explain.

“Hope” is the thing with feathers - 

That perches in the soul - 

And sings the tune without the words - 

And never stops - at all - 

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard - 

And sore must be the storm - 

That could abash the little Bird 

That kept so many warm - 

I’ve heard it in the chillest land - 

And on the strangest Sea - 

Yet - never - in Extremity, 

It asked a crumb - of me.

A poet Emily Dickinson often does not provide "certitude" of what she meant by this and that. Most of the time, she leaves ambiguity in the poem on purpose and let her readers reach their own conclusion, provoking to use their creativity and interpretation. All she does to her poem are not putting titles, randomly capitalizing words which somehow shows the importance of the words, and ending lines with dashes which make a resting point and a rhythm. Dickinson provides some hints what could be significant when interpreting her poem and the minimum amount of implications of the meaning. One of her well-known poems "Hope is the thing with feathers" shows the feature too.  

In the first line of the poem, a word "Hope" has quotation marks, implying that it might be a keyword in this poem. The narrator's tone seems to be very hopeful and lively. Furthermore, "hope" is described as if it is a bird. It is with feathers, perches, and sings the tune without the words. It has exactly same features as a bird. Just like the bird, the narrator draws "hope" as a free and unrestricted thing because it never stops to sing at all. However, the author never speaks directly what "hope" actually is. All we can do is just to assume it as a positive thing. Then, in the second stanza, there is a word "Bird", saying "the storm that could abash the little Bird". It means that there must be the storm that will destroy or harm the "hope", which has so many warm (beneficial heritage), whose true meaning is up to one's interpretation. From here, the tone of narrator changes into depressed and hopeless. It was once very sweet with the existence of "hope", but as the gale has come, it changed. Eventually, in the last stanza, when the narrator is in such extremity, "Yet never ... It asked a crumb of me". This line particularly depends on readers creativity because this can mean two things : hope gives everything without asking in return or hope is untouchable that can not be reached. 

In the poem, Dickinson provides clues by using end rhymes. In the first stanza, it has ABAB structure where "feathers" and "words" make a rhyme, and "soul" and "all" make a rhyme. Same for the second stanza, it has ABAB structure where "heard" and "bird" make a rhyme, and "sea" and "me" make a rhyme. However, for the third stanza, it has ABBB structure. The changed rhyme structure implies the atmosphere of the poem is somewhat changed. Such word choices as an extremity, the chillest and the strangest make the atmosphere more heavy and serious. They are not easily read compared to the first two stanzas, and especially, the tone in the first stanza is very hopeful. For this poem, Dickinson only provides a few implications and hints of the meaning of "hope". The rest of the meaning of this poem and interpretation are all up to readers.