Question

PLEAS ANSWER QUICKLY!!! 100 POINTS!!!!!!!

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.

–“Hope is the thing with feathers,”
Emily Dickinson

Consider the word choice in the second stanza, and then answer the questions.

The denotation of gale is “a strong wind.” What is the connotation of gale as it is used in the second stanza of the poem?



How would the poem’s meaning change if Dickinson had used the word breeze instead?

Answer 1

Answer:

1. The tone of the word "gale" as it's used in the poem is warm and grateful.

2. If Emily Dickinson had used the word "breeze" instead of "gale" the meaning would have been more relaxed and it would have been harder to figure out the meaning, that hope is hard to demolish.

Explanation:

1. The word connotation means feeling, so the question is asking what feeling does the word "gale" give off as it is used in the second stanza.

2. If you replace the word "gale" with "breeze" the tone is relaxed and it is harder to detect the meaning of the poem.