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It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

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by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886)
Translation © by Guy Laffaille

Hope is the thing with feathers
Language: English 
Our translations:  FRE GER GER
Hope is [the]1 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.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
1 Syderman: "a"; further changes may exist not noted.

Text Authorship:

  • by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, appears in Poems by Emily Dickinson, first published 1891 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by Ronald A. Beckett , "Hope", 2012 [ voice and piano ], from Five Poems by Emily Dickinson, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Leonard Berkowitz (b. 1926), "Hope", published 1968 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from Four Songs on Poems of Emily Dickinson, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Gordon Ware Binkerd (1916 - 2003), "Hope is the thing with feathers" [ SSAA chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Otto Luening (1900 - 1996), "Hope is the thing with feathers", published 1961 [ medium voice and piano ], from Songs to Poems of Emily Dickinson [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Ben Moore (b. 1960), "Hope is the thing with feathers " [ voice and piano ], from Eight Songs, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928 - 2016), "Hope is the thing with feathers", 1972 [ chorus a cappella ], from Elämän kirja (A Book of Life), no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Robert Starer (1924 - 2001), "Hope is the thing with feathers", published 1977 [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by William Sydeman (b. 1928), "Hope is a thing with feathers", published 1970 [ soprano or tenor and violoncello ], from Three Songs after Emily Dickinson [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) (Walter A. Aue) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 70

L'Espoirest la chose avec des plumes
Language: French (Français)  after the English 
« L'Espoir » est la chose avec des plumes --
Qui est perchée dans l'âme --
Et chante l'air sans les paroles --
Et ne s'arrête jamais -- jamais --

Et le plus doucement -- dans les Coups de vents -- on l'entend --
Et cruelle devrait être la tempête --
Qui pourrait rendre confus le petit Oiseau
Qui a gardé tant de personnes au chaud --

Je l'ai entendu dans le pays le plus froid --
Et sur la Mer la plus étrange --
Pourtant -- jamais -- rendu à toute Extrémité,
Il n'a demandé une miette -- à moi.

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of title(s):
"Hope" = "Espoir"
"Hope is a thing with feathers" = "L'Espoir est une chose avec des plumes"
"Hope is the thing with feathers" = "L'Espoir est la chose avec des plumes"


Text Authorship:

  • Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2018 by Guy Laffaille, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
    Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

  • a text in English by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, appears in Poems by Emily Dickinson, first published 1891
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2018-10-14
Line count: 12
Word count: 86

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This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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