As a byproduct of the sheer amount of Emily Dickinson poetry that has been recovered, readers have been given a unique slant into the progression of her innermost, clandestine perspectives. Over time topics have been revisited, and perspectives rewritten by her lush poems, brimmed with new thoughts at new angles. Dickinson's varying perspectives on hope is an example of her modified thought over time. One can see her initial fantasies on hope in “‘Hope' is the thing with feathers”, as the beautiful image of a songbird perched on the soul pervades the scene.
[...] Dickinson emphasizes this separation by using different consonant and vowel sounds during the first and second halves of each stanza to force a verbal change in the poem. The first halves of the stanzas are featured by words and sounds. For example, Dickinson uses and in the first two lines of the first stanza, and and “Halcyon” in the second stanza. Similarly, words are used in the latter half of the stanzas, such as “Abstinence”, “whatsoever”, and “remain.” This shift in letter emphasis could be explained by the change from a consonant to vowel. [...]
[...] A safer assumption would be that because of the proximity in time, Dickinson was at least aware of their thematic relationship. As a pair of poems, “Hope is a strange invention” and “Hope is a subtle Glutton” build off each other to express similar feelings on her views of hope. More evidence of their relationship is apparent when noticing the almost identical structure they share. “Hope is a strange invention” and “Hope is a subtle Glutton” each utilizes two ballad stanzas to assemble the entirety of the poem. [...]
[...] To technically create this theme, Dickinson uses both diction and structure. Word choice like “invention”, “unremitting”, “electric”, “adjunct” and “momentum” assemble machine-like thoughts in the reader. Each draws from associations we have with mechanical instruments, from their type of motion to their source of power. Structurally, “Hope is a strange invention” is written in an almost flawless iambic ballad stanza (except for the initial trochee discussed earlier). This in itself shows a mechanical structure, as Dickinson has stuck to mechanics of poetry through a predictable, mass-produced, efficient structure. [...]
[...] Through “Hope is a strange invention”, Dickinson explores her feelings upon hope's role in human nature. On the surface of the poem, Dickinson awes at the “unremitting nature” of hope. It is this “unique momentum” that keeps hope alive in humans. It is also described as a passion distinctive to the human heart, a which differentiates. On closer examination though, Dickinson subverts this common belief of hope with her own interpretation. Her imagery on the subject plays a crucial role detailing her thoughts and eliciting appropriate responses from the reader. [...]
[...] The second metaphor again deals with the act of eating, as hope is seated on a table “that never seats but one.” Dickinson takes this metaphor further by similarly explaining, “whatsoever is consumed, the same amount remain.” These two metaphors deliver the same explanation of hope's inability to eat what is set out in front it. The other symmetric severance can be made between the first two and the latter two lines of each stanza. The structure of Dickinson's metaphorical stanza follows a pattern of explaining the common notion of hope, and then rejecting it for her own ideas. [...]
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