Poem

Hope Is the Thing with Feathers — Read Aloud

by Emily Dickinson

words

30s

at 140 WPM

Easy

difficulty

speed presets

Reading time at three speeds

Slow · 110 WPM

38s

Natural · 140 WPM

30s

Brisk · 170 WPM

24s

How to read it

Read "Hope Is the Thing with Feathers" at a relaxed 140 WPM (~30s). Breathe at each stanza break and let line endings carry a slight pause rather than a full stop. Slow to 110 WPM for your first pass while Telepront's voice-scroll learns your pace, then push to 170 WPM once the rhythm feels natural.

Read-aloud scriptAuto-scrolls in Telepront

Hope is the 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.

"Hope Is the Thing with Feathers" by Emily Dickinson (1891). Public domain.

Practice this in Telepront

Open the text and it auto-scrolls as you speak — voice tracking follows your pace hands-free, so you can focus on delivery instead of the screen.

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Questions about this text

How long does it take to read "Hope Is the Thing with Feathers" aloud?

About 30s at a natural 140 WPM, 38s taken slowly, or 24s at a brisk 170 WPM. It is 69 words long.

Is "Hope Is the Thing with Feathers" by Emily Dickinson in the public domain?

Yes. Published in 1891, it is in the public domain in the United States and free to read, record, and practice with.

How do I practice reading this with a teleprompter?

Open it in Telepront and the script auto-scrolls as you speak, matching your pace hands-free so you can focus on delivery.