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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.
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View original text (without footnotes)1 Syderman: "a"; further changes may exist not noted.
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: 69
Die Hoffnung ist das Federding, das in der Seel' sich birgt und Weisen ohne Worte singt und niemals müde wird. Am süß'ten klingt es in den Bö'n - und schlimm der Sturm der kränkt und Schaden bringt dem Vögelchen, das soviel Wärme schenkt. Ich hab's auf fremd'ster See gehört und auf der kält'sten Flur; doch nie hat's in Gefahr begehrt von mir ein Körnchen nur.
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Authorship:
- Translation from English to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2010 by Walter A. Aue, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Walter A. Aue. Contact: waue (AT) dal (DOT) ca
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Based on:
- a text in English by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, appears in Poems by Emily Dickinson, first published 1891
This text was added to the website: 2010-01-12
Line count: 12
Word count: 65