"Hope" is the thing with feathers－1
That perches in the soul－
And sings the tune without the words－
And never stops－at all－
And sweetest－in the Gale－is heard－5
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－9
And on the strangest Sea－
Yet, never, in Extremity,
It asked a crumb－of Me.
That perches in the soul－
And sings the tune without the words－
And never stops－at all－
And sweetest－in the Gale－is heard－5
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－9
And on the strangest Sea－
Yet, never, in Extremity,
It asked a crumb－of Me.
(F.314/J.254)
[1] Hope:: a valley, enclosed land, or a small bay with narrow opening (OED n.2). feathers:: birds.
[2] soul:: center of a land.
[3] tune:: the sound caused by the wind through a narrow entrance.
[5] Gale:: a strong wind (which causes the tune).
[6] storm:: a hint on the answer, the valley or bay struck by a storm.
[7] little bird:: a private source of information (OED bird n. 4a, 1711). The secret of one's wish.
[8] the chillest land:: hope as a sloping hollow between two hills.
[9] the strangest Sea:: hope as a a small bay with narrow opening.
[11] extremity:: the worst weather, situation.
HOPE, in local names in England, is said to signify a sloping hollow between two hills, and is derived by some from the Celt.; but it is more probably a corruption of haw, haugh, hawgh, hough, from the A. S. haga, a small quantity of enclosed land, a dwelling-house. Halliwell gives "Hope, a valley, also a hill." ─ Local Etymology: A Derivative Dictionary of Geographical Names (1859)