In 12 short lines, Emily Dickinson turns hope into a small bird that lives in the soul and never stops singing, even in the worst storms. This free worksheet includes the full poem with numbered lines, vocabulary, five discussion questions, a writing prompt and an answer key. No signup needed.
Grades 5–8 · Common Core RL.6.4, RL.6.2, RL.6.5 · US Letter PDF, with an answer key on the last page
What’s on the worksheet
Dickinson wrote this poem around 1861; it was published after her death, in 1891. It is an extended metaphor written in three four-line stanzas, using slant rhyme and a hymn-like meter. This is the 1891 printed text; in her manuscript Dickinson used dashes, which early editors changed to commas.
Vocabulary
- perches: sits or rests, as a bird does
- gale: a very strong wind
- abash: to embarrass or make ashamed; here, to silence or defeat
- extremity: a moment of greatest danger or need
Discussion questions
- What is hope compared to, and why is that a good comparison?
- What do the "gale" and the "storm" stand for in a person's life?
- Find the line that says the bird sings "without the words." What do you think that means?
- In the last stanza, what does the bird ask for in return? What does this say about hope?
- Dickinson's manuscript used dashes where this printed version has commas. How might dashes change the way the poem sounds or feels?
Writing prompt
Pick a feeling (courage, fear, joy, worry). Write a 3-stanza poem that describes it as an animal: where it lives, what it does in hard times, and what it asks of you.
The answer key is included in the PDF, on its own page for teachers.