Emily Dickinson, "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 —' What does this say about hope?

Dickinson calls hope "the thing with feathers" that "perches in the soul". She names hope as a bird outright, without saying hope is *like* a bird. Which figure of speech is this?

Dickinson, "Hope is the thing with feathers": 'And sweetest — in the Gale — is heard — / And sore must be the storm — / That could abash the little Bird / That kept so many warm —' What does the Gale stand for?

Dickinson writes that hope is "sweetest — in the Gale — is heard —" in "Hope is the thing with feathers". What does that line mean?

Dickinson, "Hope is the thing with feathers": 'And sore must be the storm — / That could abash the little Bird / That kept so many warm —' What do these lines mean?

Dickinson, "Hope is the thing with feathers": 'I've heard it in the chillest land — / And on the strangest Sea — / Yet, never, in extremity, / It asked a crumb of me.' What do the last two lines mean?

In "Hope is the thing with feathers", Dickinson says she has heard hope "in the chillest land — / And on the strangest Sea —". What do these places stand for?

In "Hope is the thing with feathers", Dickinson writes: 'And sore must be the storm —'. Which sound device does the repeated s at the start of sore and storm create?

Emily Dickinson, "Because I could not stop for Death": 'Because I could not stop for Death — / He kindly stopped for me — / The Carriage held but just Ourselves — / And Immortality.' How is Death presented here?

In "Because I could not stop for Death", Dickinson gives Death human manners, a carriage and the patience to drive slowly. Which figure of speech does this?

Dickinson, "Because I could not stop for Death": 'We slowly drove — He knew no haste / And I had put away / My labor and my leisure too, / For His Civility —' What does putting away labor and leisure mean?

Dickinson, "Because I could not stop for Death": 'We passed the School, where Children strove / At Recess — in the Ring — / We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain — / We passed the Setting Sun —' What do the three sights stand for?

In "Because I could not stop for Death", three lines begin "We passed the...". This makes the ride feel steady and unhurried. Which device is this?

Dickinson, "Because I could not stop for Death": 'The Dews drew quivering and Chill — / For only Gossamer, my Gown — / My Tippet — only Tulle —' What does the thin clothing suggest?

Dickinson, "Because I could not stop for Death": 'We paused before a House that seemed / A Swelling of the Ground — / The Roof was scarcely visible — / The Cornice — in the Ground —' What is this House?

Dickinson, "Because I could not stop for Death": 'Since then — 'tis Centuries — and yet / Feels shorter than the Day / I first surmised the Horses' Heads / Were toward Eternity —' What do these lines mean?

Emily Dickinson, "I heard a Fly buzz — when I died": 'The Stillness in the Room / Was like the Stillness in the Air — / Between the Heaves of Storm —' What does this comparison mean?

In "I heard a Fly buzz — when I died", Dickinson says the room's stillness "Was like the Stillness in the Air —". Which figure of speech uses like or as to compare two things?

Dickinson, "I heard a Fly buzz — when I died": 'The Eyes around — had wrung them dry — / And Breaths were gathering firm / For that last Onset —' What does the first line mean?

Dickinson, "I heard a Fly buzz — when I died": 'For that last Onset — when the King / Be witnessed — in the Room —' Who or what is the King the mourners expect?

Dickinson, "I heard a Fly buzz — when I died": 'With Blue — uncertain — stumbling Buzz — / Between the light — and me —' What does the fly's position suggest?

Dickinson, "I heard a Fly buzz — when I died": 'And then the Windows failed — and then / I could not see to see —' What do the Windows stand for?

In "I heard a Fly buzz — when I died", Dickinson writes of a "stumbling Buzz". The word Buzz imitates the sound it names. Which sound device is that?

In "I heard a Fly buzz — when I died", the speaker tells the story of her own death from a point after it has already happened.

Emily Dickinson, "There's a certain Slant of light": 'There's a certain Slant of light, / Winter Afternoons — / That oppresses, like the Heft / Of Cathedral Tunes —' What does this comparison mean?

In "There's a certain Slant of light", Dickinson compares the light's weight to "the Heft / Of Cathedral Tunes —" rather than to a heavy stone. What does that choice add?

Dickinson, "There's a certain Slant of light": 'Heavenly Hurt, it gives us — / We can find no scar, / But internal difference — / Where the Meanings, are —' What does "We can find no scar" mean?

Dickinson, "There's a certain Slant of light": 'But internal difference — / Where the Meanings, are —' What has changed in the speaker?

Dickinson, "There's a certain Slant of light": 'None may teach it — Any — / 'Tis the Seal Despair — / An imperial affliction / Sent us of the Air —' What does the first line mean?

In "There's a certain Slant of light", Dickinson writes: 'When it comes, the Landscape listens — / Shadows — hold their breath —'. What do these lines mean?

Dickinson, "There's a certain Slant of light": 'When it goes, 'tis like the Distance / On the look of Death —' What does the light's leaving feel like?

Emily Dickinson, "A Bird, came down the Walk": 'A Bird, came down the Walk — / He did not know I saw — / He bit an Angle Worm in halves / And ate the fellow, raw,' What does this show about the bird?

Dickinson, "A Bird, came down the Walk": 'And then, he drank a Dew / From a convenient Grass — / And then hopped sidewise to the Wall / To let a Beetle pass —' How does the last line make the bird seem?

Dickinson, "A Bird, came down the Walk": 'He glanced with rapid eyes, / That hurried all abroad — / They looked like frightened Beads, I thought,' What do the bird's eyes seem like?

In "A Bird, came down the Walk", Dickinson writes: 'He stirred his Velvet Head.' What does Velvet suggest about the bird?

Dickinson, "A Bird, came down the Walk": 'And he unrolled his feathers, / And rowed him softer Home — / Than Oars divide the Ocean, / Too silver for a seam,' What does this say about the flight?

Dickinson, "A Bird, came down the Walk": 'Or Butterflies, off Banks of Noon, / Leap, plashless as they swim.' What does plashless say about how the butterflies move?

Emily Dickinson, "I'm Nobody! Who are you?": 'I'm Nobody! Who are you? / Are you — Nobody — too?' What does calling herself Nobody mean?

Dickinson, "I'm Nobody! Who are you?": 'How dreary — to be — Somebody! / How public — like a Frog — / To tell one's name — the livelong June — / To an admiring Bog!' What does the Frog stand for?

In "I'm Nobody! Who are you?", Dickinson ends with the frog telling its name "To an admiring Bog!". What does the Bog stand for?