“[T]he thing with feathers” is a bit of a mystery in the poem. Were it not for the immediate equation between “the thing with feathers” and hope, the first stanza would read like a riddle. It is not clear what exactly “the thing with feathers” is supposed to represent in concrete terms. Of course, the speaker of the poem uses the “thing with feathers” as a symbol of hope, but it is not clear how exactly the reader is supposed to envision this creature. Since feathers only appear on birds and angels, however, there are limited possibilities.

The speaker’s use of vague language in relating the “thing with feathers” allows it to become a more precise metaphor than it could otherwise be. Traditional metaphors are often troubled by their imprecision—a man can be related to an ox to demonstrate his strength, for instance, but that does not mean the man has fur or horns. By keeping the symbol of “the thing with feathers” vague, the speaker only needs to reveal the relevant metaphorical details. Still, as covered in the Poem Analysis, there is reason to believe that the “thing with feathers” refers to a celestial figure.