“Hope is the thing with Feathers”
“Hope is the thing with Feathers”
‘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.” (Emily Dickinson, 1861).
In this short poem, she is using a figure of speech as she encourages readers to think about the quality of hope. Hope is like a bird, she says indirectly, that has found a resting place in each person’s soul. Hope is a bird that sings without a human vocabulary, without the words of intellectual analysis or straightforward logic. Hope is not something we have to define, Emily seems to be saying, but hope is something important that can be described as we chase down its meaning. Hope is a song that sings to our spirit and not directly to our intellect. Songbirds are able to sing triumphantly even in the midst of a windstorm, without words to explain exactly what the song is about. Her testimonial to the resilience and mystery of hope speaks to a bird’s ability to confidently sing at the darkest part of the night, just before dawn. The songbird sings with certainty that the sun will soon rise, that the new day will begin. The bird is completely filled with hope in what will certainly happen soon.
In this poem, Miss Dickinson is following her own advice that she has said elsewhere, “Tell all the truth, but tell it slant.” When we want to present truth, she is saying, come at it sideways and not head-on. A blunt statement of raw truth will not be readily understood, she says, and deserves instead a more indirect approach that will capture our attention. Truth is better able to taken in by each of us from the side, through the imagination, through figures of speech, illustrations, stories, art, poetry. Come at the truth at different angles and not straight on, she is saying. So in her “Hope” poem she has come at it sideways, at a slant, through the helpful metaphor of a bird, helping us to better understand the nature of hope. One wonders if her ‘bird’ in this poem might been referring to the eagle, since biblically the quality of hope is so directly applied to the eagle.
“They who patiently hope in the Lord by weaving together aspects of their lives with Him, will find their strength renewed. Trusting in the Lord, they will be able to lift off and soar like the eagles. When they are running their race, they will never get winded or weary; when they are walking through life, they will never become tired or give up.” (Isaiah 40:31).
HOPE. The Hebrew word in Scripture for hope, “tikvah,” has as its root word “qavah” which means to wait. Thus in Scripture we find that occasionally the words hope and wait are somewhat interchangeable. “Hope moves the heart of God to come to our help with His grace.” (Father R. Cantalamessa). Various descriptions of hope might include: Hope is confidently expecting a positive outcome, as opposed to despair, which is fearfully expecting a negative outcome; hope is trusting God for one’s future, as opposed to doubt, which distrustful of God for one’s future; hope is an optimistic assurance based on reality, as opposed to wishful thinking, which is based on uncertainty; hope is a patient waiting that keeps one actively moving forward, as opposed to a frustrating resignation which passively keeps one stuck; hope is the strong inner urge to work through a difficulty and do what one can to solve it, as opposed to the inclination to avoid a difficulty and thus not solve anything; hope is the positive conviction that there is something substantial to look forward to, as opposed to one’s pessimistic belief that the future holds nothing but a bleak emptiness; hope is the anticipation of a triumphant future in the long run, as opposed to someone who doesn’t even believe in the possibility of a long run of any kind. As the ancient Church Father put it, “Hope is the loving movement of one’s spirit towards that which it hopes for.” (St. Didacus).
More Metaphors for Hope in Scripture. Biblical writers also tried to tell the truth about hope at a slant, indirectly, through metaphor:
Hope is a Helmet (1 Thessalonians 5:8), protecting the mind. The importance of hope has been resurrected now by neuroscience. Brain research has uncovered the importance of hope to the degree that there is now a branch of neuroscience that is called “the science of hope.” Here we are in the 21st century, confirming that in the 1st century St. Paul was right on target when said that hope protects the mind. We now know that the emotion of hope protects the brain, like a helmet worn on one’s head. Science has proven that our brain was made to function much more effectively when we engage in hopefulness. Creator God made our brains to run best on the fuel of hope. One neuroscientist puts it this way, “Hope is as vital to the human brain as the oxygen we breathe.” (Professor Terry Small).
Hope is an Anchor (Heb. 6:19). A hopeful view of the future will tie us to eternity with God. Our hope is an anchor for the soul. This anchor is firm and secure. This is interesting, because it’s upside-down. This isn’t an anchor that goes down from above to the depths below. No, hope is an anchor that is lodged up above in heaven, and is tied to us here below. This anchor is actually secured in heaven, and so it keeps us connected to heavenly matters, to eternal virtues, to the everlasting person of Christ. The anchor up there keeps you tied to the will of God down here. Hope will connect us to an anchor in glory, keep us tethered to that which will not diminish and fall apart here on earth. Keeping our hope alive will us anchor to life eternal.
Hope is a Springboard (Col 1:5). Once again, Scripture talks about hope with the helpful use of metaphor. St. Paul says that love springs from the hope that is stored up for us in heaven. Hope is a springboard for love. When we embrace the future with hope, we are able to embrace the present with love. Love jumps out of hope, and love for our neighbor, love for our enemy, love for the stranger, love for God. If we can imagine a diving board at the swimming pool. Imagine love right now, today, approaching that board. A little timid, a little unsure of what is to come. And imagine that love having the courage to walk out on the diving board of hope, and jumping into the water with confidence and assurance. Hope is that diving board for love. Confidence in the future because of God’s goodness produces love, eagerly and joyfully anticipating good things around each corner. Hope is like a resurrection of the heart of love. Hope is a springboard.
Yes, as Emily Dickinson believes, hope is like a bird. And as Scripture contends, it’s also like an anchor, a helmet, a springboard. Tell all the truth, but tell it slant. Looking at truth by engaging the imagination will help us to better understand the truth of hope.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13).