A BIRD CAME DOWN THE WALK SUMMARY BY EMILY DICKINSON
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Emily Elizabeth
Dickinson was born on December 10,1830 in Amherst , America. Her family had
deep roots in New England. Her grandfather Samuel Dickinson was well known as
the founder of Amherst college. Dickinson, was educated at Amherst college.
Dickinson began writing as a teenager. Like most writers, Emily Dickinson wrote
regarding what she knew. Her themes are the wonders of nature, the identity of
the self, death and immortality.
“A Bird came down
the walk” was first published in 1891 in the second collection of Dickinson’s
poems. In this poem she shares her observation of a bird that had come down for
a walk in her yard. It also characterizes how animals can be civilized and
depicts human –characteristics. This poem consists of five stanzas with four
lines each.
“A Bird, came down
the walk/ He did not know I saw” A bird came across the poet in a garden
pathway. The bird is not aware of poet’s presence. The bird’s behavioural pattern can be
compared with that of humans. Like uncivilized man, the bird consumes its
food. He bit an angle worm in halves and
ate it raw. Here the poet exhibits the violence innately presented in nature.
The bird’s mannerism in this context, can be also compared with humans.
After the meal,
the bird sought some water. There is some grass on the side of the walk way.
Dew is still present on the grass, indicating that it is early morning. The
bird found the dew upon a blade of grass and drank it. The poet calls this
grass as “convenient”. The poet then observes how the bird allows a beetle to
pass by hopping side wise “hopped side wise to the wall to let a beetle pass”.
This line conveys that is not all creatures in the nature world for violence
and co-operation also exist in good measure.
A comment that could also be very well be said of humans.
The bird has its
own predators so it has to be much attentive, alert and careful of its
surroundings. Hence it glanced around with “rapid eyes”. “They looked like frightened
Beads” the expression “Frightened beads” is very fresh and original. The fright
of the bird is further attested by the stir of his velvet head.
The poet tried all
the methods to make sure that bird is not in danger. In order to exhibit her
friendly nature, the poet offered a crumb to the bird. However the bird
unrolled its feathers and softly rowed itself home “And he unrolled his
feathers, and he rowed him softer home”. The word “rowed” is remarkable to
describe the bird’s flight and the movement of the bird is very silent as the
use of the word “softer” indicates.
Oars divide the ocean
Too silver for a seam
Or Butterflies off Bank of Noon,
Leap, plashless as they swim.
In the
last stanza, she compares the wings to the oars which open blue sky to the
ocean in the poem or it is like plashless leap of butterflies in some afternoon
in some river. The alliterations are :
Too silver for a seam
Or Butterflies off Bank of Noon,
In this
poem, Dickinson exhibits her extra –ordinary poetic powers of observation and
description of a simple incident of a bird. In this poem she used
unconventional captialization and punctuation. The rhyme scheme is abcb. The
poem is largely written in Iambic trimeter.
Reference :
https://www.bachelorandmaster.com/britishandamericanpoetry/a-bird-came-down-the-walk-summary-analysis.html
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