Hope

Life

Hope and Life share a single interaction, indicating a fragile but supportive bond where hope sustains life.

The Heart of a Woman

Hope is implied in the heart's dreams of the stars.

Dawn

Hope is embodied in the promise of a new day and renewal.

Impelled

Hope is implied in the renewal of day and the promise of rebirth.

Omega

Hope is implied as the forgotten entity that the speaker wishes to forget to end suffering.

Gilead

Implied as the soul-renewing balm found within the heart.

Despair

Referenced indirectly through 'hopes that were never fulfilled' and 'fond dreams that failed.'

Whene'er I Lift My Eyes to Bliss

Implied in the longing for bliss and the urge of Spring, though met with pain.

Despair

Hope is implicitly referenced through the farewell to unfulfilled hopes.

Recompense

Hope is implied through the promise of happiness after pain.

Recompense

Hope is implicitly present in the promise that happiness will soothe sighs and smiles await tears, guiding the emotional arc of the poem.

Souvenir

Hope is implied in the treasured memory that remains vibrant despite life's challenges.

The Willow

Hope is implied in the consolation that comes despite the tears.

Sonnet to the Mantled

Hope is embodied in the vision of exiles returning home and the spirit soaring to victory.

Sonnet to Those Who See but Darkly

Hope's piping calls the children of night forward.

Sonnet to the Mantled

Embodied in the vision of rising and victorious exiles.

Sonnet to Those Who See but Darkly

Hope is personified as a guiding force, piping a dulcet lay that draws the souls upward.

Let Me Not Lose My Dream

Implied as the force behind the dream the speaker refuses to lose.

Let Me Not Hate

Implied as the sustaining force behind the speaker's plea to love and keep the altar-gleams alive.

Let Me Not Lose My Dream

Implied as the dream or vision the speaker desperately seeks to preserve.

Let Me Not Hate

Implied as the fragile 'altar-gleams' that the speaker wishes to keep alive.

Laocoön

Referenced as 'glowing forms of hope' that shine but seem unattainable, highlighting the tension between desire and reality.

Moods

Faith's fragile light is imperiled, yet the speaker ultimately soars with vision.

Laocoön

Referenced as 'glowing forms of hope' that shine but remain unattainable.

Moods

Faith is described as a fragile craft of light, imperiled yet present.

The Passing of the Ex-Slave

Hope is embodied in the 'chastened glow' and the quiet might of the ex-slaves as they move into the silent way.

Hegira

Embodied in the 'budding Hegira' and the vision of a northern land where 'the symbol of worth sets the broad gates of combat ajar.'

Aliens

Hope is embodied in the vision of a future where love and peace replace hatred and pride, offering a transcendent resolution to the isolation described.

Aliens

Hope is present in the vision of a future where love reigns and peace spreads, offering transcendence over current suffering.

One of the Least of These, My Little One

Hope is embodied in the child's divine capacity to love despite suffering.

Shall I Say, “My Son, You’re Branded?”

Implied as the faith and vision that the speaker urges the son to hold onto.

One of the Least of These, My Little One

Hope is embodied in the God-like entity that emerges from suffering.

Guardianship

Hope is embodied in the child's potential and the call to overcome obstacles.

Shall I Say, “My Son, You’re Branded?”

Hope is invoked as a faith that shall not falter, guiding the son to storm the fortress of prejudice.

Utopia

Invoked through wishes for a bright future and repose.

Little Son

Referenced as 'my hope deferred, but not denied,' indicating a persistent yet unfulfilled hope.

Guardianship

Embodied in the child's potential and the belief in forging a key to destiny.

Little Son

Referenced as 'my hope deferred, but not denied,' indicating a persistent hopefulness.

Promise

Hope is embodied in the bright morning star and the dulcet pipes of tomorrow.

Benediction

Hope is embodied in the mother's desire and the son's bright future.

Hope

Hope is personified as the force that breaks through shadows and assures the dawn.

Promise

Hope is embodied in the 'bright morning star' and the 'sweet, dulcet pipes of tomorrow,' signaling optimism and future promise.

Hope

Hope is personified as the force that sifts through shadows, promising that day must follow night.

Faith

Hope is embodied in the strong who continue to hope on despite burial and silence.

We Face the Future

Hope is embodied in the faith that springtime keeps and the stars' guidance.

Faith

Hope is embodied by the strong who continue to hope even in the face of death and silence.

Soldier

Embodied in the mother's wish for her son's cause to be kingly and for him to be strong.

Homing Braves

Hope is embodied in the vision of a prejudice-free homecoming and the fulfillment of the soldiers' dreams.

We Face the Future

Hope is embodied in the faith that Springtime keeps and the stars' guidance, sustaining the soldiers through war.

Soldier

The mother's hope for her son's bravery and survival, despite her sorrow.

Peace

Hope is embodied in the vision of peace and the reclamation of kindness.

Homing Braves

Hope is embodied in the vision of soldiers returning to a home free from prejudice, where their dreams are unhindered.

Peace

Hope is embodied in the vision of peace and the release of sweet charity.

Resolution

Hope is implicitly invoked as the narrator's renewed determination to make dreams come true suggests a rekindled hopefulness.

The Watcher

Implied in the prayer for light to break.

To John Brown

Hope is embodied in the song of dusky millions and the promise of freedom's dawning.

To John Brown

Hope is embodied in the enduring legacy of Brown's deed and the promise of freedom's dawning.

To W. E. B. DuBois—Scholar

Referenced as a buried yet reborn force, taught by DuBois alongside Faith.

To Ridgely Torrence—Playwright

The poem embodies hope for a new cycle and liberation from past constraints.

To W. E. B. DuBois—Scholar

Mentioned as a teaching of DuBois, along with Faith, over the tomb.

To Richard R. Wright—Instructor

Hope is embodied in the vision of a man 'fashioned for the years to be,' suggesting a hopeful future.

To Emilie Bigelow Hapgood—Philanthropist

Referenced as a token lifted by the philanthropist's hands.

To Richard R. Wright—Instructor

Embodied in the final line 'A man is fashioned for the years to be!' suggesting a hopeful vision for the future.

To Mary Church Turrell—Lecturer

Hope is personified as a source of light and tender song, symbolizing the optimism and vision that Mary Church Terrell brings.

To Emilie Bigelow Hapgood—Philanthropist

Referenced as a token lifted by the philanthropist's hands.

To the Memory of Inez Milholland

Implied through the promise of meeting again on 'His Holy Hill'.

To Mary Church Turrell—Lecturer

Hope is personified as a guiding light and source of tender song in the poem.

To May Howard Jackson—Sculptor

Hope is embodied in the sculptor's ardor for her first ideal and her vision for a better day.

To the Memory of Inez Milholland

Implied through the promise of meeting again on 'that Great Day'.

Lesson

Hope is cautioned against being placed in the crumbling walls of mankind's gratitude.

My Son

Hope is embodied in the vision of a coming day of freedom and blooming immortelles.

Pilgrimage

Implied in the desire for guidance and the belief in finding the path.

My Son

Embodied as the vision of a coming day when the son will thrive beyond present suffering.

Soul’s Easter

Hope is embodied in the soul's leap and the promise of transcendence beyond death.

Soul’s Easter

Hope is present in the promise of resurrection and the soul's emergence after death.

Promise

Hope is personified as lighting the eyes of the sorrowful traveler.

Prejudice

Implied through the search for a 'God-illumined place,' representing a hopeful vision beyond the darkness.

Promise

Hope is personified as lighting the eyes of the sorrowful.

The True American

The poem's vision of a unified, prejudice-free future reflects the presence of hope for a better America.

Wishes

Hope is implied as the narrator wishes to see if dreams will come to pass.

The True American

Hope is personified in the son's new song and the promise of a unified future, rising above hatred and division.

Wishes

Implied through the narrator's wish to see if dreams 'shall perish or come to pass,' reflecting a hopeful yet uncertain outlook.

I Closed My Shutters Fast Last Night

Implied in the morning's whisper to await a golden, perfect hour.

Footsteps

Hope is implied in the speaker's low listening for certain footsteps, suggesting a belief in a future arrival.

I Closed My Shutters Fast Last Night

Personified as the tranquil morn that restores the heart and whispers of a future golden hour.

Welt

The wish to mend youth and prolong joy suggests a hopeful longing.

Sunset

Hope is absent; the narrator describes himself as 'without hope'.

Joy

Hope is subtly present in the search for rare moments of rapture amid gloom.

Armageddon

Hope is implied as the dawn that appears after the narrator's battle.

Le Soir

Referenced as a potential source of blossoms spray, offering a vision of lush profusion beyond the edge of day.

Armageddon

Hope is implied through the narrator's perseverance and the arrival of dawn after the dark battle.

Le Soir

Referenced as a potential source of blossoms spraying over the edge of day, embodying uncertain optimism.

Destiny

Underpins the speaker's confident expectation of the beloved's arrival.

Your Eyes

Embodied as the narrator's hopes for paradise, inspired by the beloved's eyes.

Break, Break My Heart

Mentioned as absent ('no hope'), underscoring the despair of the moment.

Break, Break My Heart

Hope is absent, as the speaker declares 'no hope' in the face of love's end.

Song of the Sinner

Implied absence; no spark of hope remains in the residuum.

Recessional

Implied in the lingering residue of fire and the undeterred flow of love.