Hope is an essential emotion. It inspires us to keep going, even in times of despair. There is hope for a better future and there’s hope that tomorrow will be better than today. Discover poetry around the theme of hope.
‘Hope is the Thing with Feathers’ by Emily Dickinson is a poem about hope. It is depicted through the famous metaphor of a bird.
This is perhaps Dickinson’s most loved poem. It focuses on the personification of hope. It is a bird that perches inside her soul and sings. The bird asks for nothing. It is at peace, and is, therefore, able to impart the same hope and peace to the speaker. She can depend on it, and take pleasure from it. The text is also a prime example of the way that Dickinson used nature as a metaphor for human emotions.
‘Hope holds to Christ’ by Gerard Manley Hopkins is a poem about faith and hope. The speaker spends the lines personifying hope and relating “her” to Christ.
This speaker begins 'Hope holds to Christ' by stating that Hope, as a personified force, holds a mirror up to Christ. As the lines progress, it becomes clear that Hope and Christ are connected and that both reflect the other in the human mind. In the dim mirror, one can see a reflection of Christ even when Hope cannot see it. It is this inability that resembles the need for faith. Even when there is no reflection, one must still believe.
‘To Hope’ by John Keats depicts the power and influence that Hope, as a personified force sent by God, can have on a struggling world.
Throughout this poem, the speaker outlines the ways in which Hope can help him improve his life, and ultimately his country. There are times when he is walking in sorrow, and he calls on Hope to shine like a heavenly light from the sky and banish the fiend of despair. His hope for his country at the end of the poem is that it will retain its pride and liberty. He believes Hope can make this happen.
Emily Brontë uses figurative language, like metaphors, similes, and most importantly, personification, to describe what the feeling of hope is like in this poem.
The main idea of this poem is “hope." Emily Brontë’s expressive discussion of the topic uses figurative language to describe the universal emotion in a way that is incredibly relatable and memorable. She suggests that even the faintest degree of hope is enough to make life worth living and for one to keep their spirits up.
‘Work without Hope’ by Samuel Taylor Coleridge describes the ways in which Nature works and the importance of having goals, or hopes, to strive towards.
‘Work without Hope’ describes the way that nature works and the importance of having a goal to direct one’s life. Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s main character begins the poem somewhere out in nature. There is all manner of life around him, including bees, birds, and plants. He takes note of how numerous the forms of life are, and how they are all working towards independent goals. The birds sing and the bees make honey. He is the sole “unbusy” element in this forest.
Langston Hughes’ ‘I, Too, Sing America’ delves into the experience of a Black man navigating American society, emphasizing his equal claim to the American identity.
‘I, Too, Sing America’ radiates hope through its vision of future equality. The speaker believes that “tomorrow” will bring recognition and justice, transcending the present reality of segregation. Hope becomes a quiet yet powerful force, propelling the speaker toward a brighter, inclusive America, though it remains grounded in optimism rather than outright certainty.
‘Days’ by Ralph Waldo Emerson is a short allegorical poem reflecting on the passage of time and the expectations of humans that come and go with it. It is celebrated as one of the best transcendental poems of the 19th century.
Hope ranks high because it reveals the attitude of the other groups of men the speaker mentions in 'Days.' Though the speaker is not like this, they acknowledge that others expect to receive good things from their day. Humans, generally speaking, hope for the best with every new day. That is a relatable truth revealed in 'Days.'
‘If I were loved, as I desire to be’ is a standout sonnet by Tennyson that explores the transformative power of love in overcoming life’s challenges.
This sonnet describes the power love has to surmount evil. After an initial period of complaint in regard to how others treat him, the speaker states that he wants to be loved by one particular person. If he can accomplish that, then the evils of the world will be unable to reach him. Love would provide him with an indestructible hope that would rise past any depression or darkness.
‘Flying Inside Your Own Body’ by Margaret Atwood speaks on the freedom one can achieve in the dream world, verses the restrictions of reality.
Throughout this piece, Margaret Atwood uses the images of the lungs and breath to speak on freedom and joy. Inside of one’s body, she depicts it as a beautiful and adventurous place. When you breathe in, you fill yourself with helium and are imbued, like a bird, with the ability to fly.
‘Equality’ by Maya Angelou is an uplifting poem with a positive message. It speaks movingly about the possibilities of the future.
In this piece the speaker address themes of equality and discrimination. Through the use of metaphors and the striking refrain, “equality and I will be free” Maya Angelou emphasizes a universal longing for equality. The speaker asks the listener to stop covering their ears and their eyes and see clearly that the speaker, and all those like her, have been crying, asking for change.
‘And There Was a Great Calm’ by Thomas Hardy describes the horrors of WWI, the end of the war, and the ‘Great Calm’ which came on November 11th, 1918.
This poem is one of Hardy’s best-known. It describes the horrors of World War II and the “Great Calm” which came on November 11th, 1918. In the first lines, he speaks on the years of emotion and how they impacted the peoples of the world. Those fighting, and those at home were all changed by it. The men on the battlefields truly suffered, so much so that when the war is declared over, no one can quite believe it.
Amidst the turmoil of World War II’s inception, Auden pens ‘September 1, 1939′, echoing Yeats’ ‘Easter, 1916’, lamenting historical failures while hinting at future glimmers of hope.
‘September 1, 1939’ was written as WWII was beginning. It was intentionally structured to mimic the format used by Yeats in his famous poem ‘Easter, 1916’. Just like Yeats’ work, Auden discusses an important historical event. The first parts of the poem speak about the failures playing out on the world stage, and the second alludes to something more hopeful in the future.
‘The Song of Wandering Aengus’ is a compelling Yeats poem that delves into Aengus’ relentless search for a mystical girl he encountered in his youth.
This piece stems from stories based on Celtic mythology and tells one part of the life of the main character, Aengus. It details Aengus’ quest to find a girl he once saw in his youth. He meditates on one moment in his past which has defined all the years he has lived since. It was a normal day, but then everything changed. While in parts sorrowful, the speaker in ‘The Song of Wandering Aengus’ has not given up hope.
‘Soon’ is a poignant exploration of a man’s final days battling AIDS, capturing his journey from resignation to a desperate plea for love and life beyond death.
This poem is a moving seven stanza piece that is told from the perceptive of a man dying of AIDS. The speaker discusses the impending nature of his death and how its cause, “This thing” in his blood, will not let him go. The speaker tells of the one he loves, and how this person knows the speaker is going to die and won’t “speak of hope or cure” as it would do him no good.
I shall die soon,I know. This thing is in my blood.
‘Memory Sack’ by Joy Harjo is a poignant poem that reveals human memory as a uniting characteristic of our existence.
Hope is one of the poem's more powerful emotions. As Joy Harjo creates a highly symbolic but affecting illustration of life's experiences from cradle to grave, she also instills this buoyant belief in the power of memory, as it connects us and grounds us to the past but also imparts this earnest desire to make more.
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