Hope
As the poem's title makes plainly obvious, its central theme is hope. The speaker personifies hope at the beginning of the text, referring to "her" as a "timid friend" who never seems to be around when she's most needed. She sings when the speaker is suffering, but then ceases when the speaker notices her. The speaker also describes hope leaving her in the moment when she is at her lowest point. The overall portrait of hope that the speaker seems to construct is one of a fickle, instinctual thing. She notes that she finds comfort in it while also suggesting that it comes and goes on its own schedule. She cannot rely on it for consistent support or approach it too closely.
Despair
One of the poem's other main themes is despair. In the last two stanzas, the speaker finds herself in a state of complete despondency, bereft of any feelings of joy. In this same moment, she finds that hope has abandoned her. Brontë seems to suggest that despair is the state that is reached when an individual loses all hope. While the speaker has difficulties throughout the poem, she seems to be in her worst moment when hope has left her entirely. The implication of this scene is that even just a glimmer of hope is enough to ward off despair.
Changeability
Another theme in the poem is changeability, specifically with regard to emotion. The speaker repeatedly notes that Hope never seems to cooperate with her. When she wants Hope to acknowledge her, Hope refuses to comply. When she pays attention to Hope's song, Hope stops singing. Finally, when the speaker needs Hope's song most, Hope vanishes. Taken together, these instances not only highlight hope's mercurial nature, but also underscore what a changeable emotion hope is. Brontë introduces changeability as a way of showing how emotions often refuse to cooperate with the person experiencing them.
