Welcome to Readers and Poets

This is the poetry that comes into my life. Please feel free to comment on anything here. I don't think there is too much beauty in the world nor poetry. I will include some comments myself sometimes and some information on the poets, but the real stars is the work itself.



I am a believer in the reader-response theory of reading which means the reader is the one who puts the meaning in the poem so every interpretation is correct. Even if the poet means one thing, it could mean something else to the reader. I am pretty laid back in interpretation as each of us have other experiences and needs when reading.



I like using Zebrareader because it gives me tremendous freedom in what I want to write.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Emily Dickinson


"Hope" is the thing with feathers -
By Emily Dickinson

"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 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.



I was in a church meeting and the speaker was talking about metaphor. He said it was a figure of speech or phrase that is applied to an object or action that it does not literally denotes in order to imply a resemblance such as He is the lamb of God.

I still have trouble distinguishing metaphor from simile because both are figures of speech but the simile is comparing two essentially unlike things but is often introduced in a phrase such as like or as such as "how like the winter hath my absence been" or "So are you to my thoughts as food to life."

The above poem uses the metaphor in which hope is compared to a bird and its song. It is a delightful poem as all poems by Dickinson are. In this case hope sits in our soul and sings its song without words and never ceases even in the strongest storms that humans experience and even shame won't stop hope's song. It keeps us warm in the coldest of times and in the worst of places and it never asks for a sacrifice of anyone.

There has been times in my life in which things looked pretty bleak. I would look around and think there was no one in my corner and I was very alone. Some people have their faith in religion and some in other things. I don't think it matters what it is but I have found great amount of strength in hope that things will change and they do. My faith relies on the inner spiritual guidance of my relationship with the Cosmos and the Bodhidharma. Like hope, my faith asks nothing from me.

Whatever one's faith or belief structure is, hope is a necessary ingredient. I don't believe that one faith is right while another is wrong. All pathways lead to Enlightenment. This poem is part of the process.
Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)