Analysis of A Bird, Came Down the Walk - Saumya Aloysius

A Bird, came down the Walk

Stanza One 

A Bird, came down the Walk –

He did not know I saw –

He bit an Angle Worm in halves 

And ate the fellow, raw,

In the first stanza of ‘A Bird, came down the Walk’ the speaker begins by describing the simple, yet beautiful movements of a bird. This particular bird is coming “down the Walk.” This is likely a sidewalk or path of some kind near the speaker’s home, or where she is situated. The speaker is able to observe the bird’s actions without it immediately becoming frightened. This says something about humans and their interactions with nature. Birds are rightfully wary of the presence of humans. They will not behave in the same way if they are knowingly being watched. 

The speaker does not have any ill intentions though. She is simply reporting on what she’s seeing, and finding importance in the instinctual actions of the bird. It finds a worm, noted here as an “Angle Worm,” and eats it raw, biting it in half. 

Stanza Two 

And then, he drank a Dew

From a convenient Grass –

And then hopped sidewise to the Wall 

To let a Beetle pass –

The next thing the speaker sees is the bird drinking the “Dew” from the grass. It doesn’t have to go anywhere else to find water, making the “Dew” and “Grass” “convenient.” So far, its life has been presented as a simple movement from need to need.

In the next two lines another small life is introduced, the “Beetle.” While the two creatures might be simple to human eyes, the bird makes a conscious effort to “hop” to the side and “let” the beetle crawl past. The bird is very aware of its world, as will be seen in the final stanzas. 

Stanza Three 

He glanced with rapid eyes,

That hurried all abroad –

They looked like frightened Beads, I thought,

He stirred his Velvet Head. –

In stanza three of ‘A Bird, came down the Walk’, the bird’s reactions to its world are carefully studied by the speaker. It is clear she is truly watching this creature and taking sound mental notes on what it is doing. She notices its inherent anxiety. No matter what it’s doing it looks around “with rapid eyes.” They move quickly, “all abroad,” trying to see everything at once. It is very on edge and aware of the variety of dangers it might face. 

The speaker takes some liberties with the description and states how the bird’s eyes appear like “frightened Beads.” They are shiny, probably black, and moving or rolling around easily. The bird becomes scared of the speaker and “stir[s]” its “Velvet Head.” This description of his feathers is interesting. Dickinson uses the word “Velvet” implying a kind of luxury about the animal. It is clear she, or at least the speaker she is channeling, sees the bird as a lovely thing. 

Stanza Four 

Like one in danger, Cautious,

I offered him a Crumb,

And he unrolled his feathers,

And rowed him softer Home –

The fourth stanza of ‘A Bird, came down the Walk’ describes the one interaction the speaker attempts with the bird. She reaches out to him and offers “him a crumb” of food. The bird does not react positively to this intrusion on its space and as its instincts require, flies away. 

In Dickinson’s words, the action is much more complicated and elegant. The bird is said to “unroll…his feathers.” It is a process the speaker sees slowly and is able to study. Each feather passes her by in all its “Velvet” beauty. When he takes to the sky he is said to “row” to his “Home,” wherever that may be. The use of the word “row” here, as if applying to sailing, starts a metaphor that continues into the fifth stanza. Dickinson closely relates water and flight and the movements which make them up. 

Stanza Five

Than Oars divide the Ocean,

Too silver for a seam,

Or Butterflies, off Banks of Noon, 

Leap, splash-less as they swim.

The last stanza is more metaphorical than those which came before it. The speaker is interested in how the bird’s wings move through the air. She describes this process as being similar to “Oars divid[ing] the Ocean.” 

The bird has a clear beauty that is compared to a butterfly that takes off from the “Banks of Noon” in the heat of the day. It jumps and moves “splash-less” through the air. It cuts through the air as an oar would through the water.

A Bird, Came Down the Walk

Summary

Popularity of “A Bird, Came down the Walk: Emily Dickinson, a great American poet, wrote ‘A Bird, Came Down the Walk’. It is a famous thought-provoking composition of natural beauty. The bird is also addressed as a human, especially a male that makes the poem more relatable. The poem speaks about a tiny bird that comes down to the earth to satisfy his hunger. It also illustrates how he reacts carefully to his environment. The poem explores the human connection with the natural world.

“A Bird, Came down the Walk” As a Representative of Nature: This poem is about the speaker’s interaction with a bird that comes down in search of food. The poem begins when the speaker scrutinizes a bird moving along the pathway. Unaware about the surroundings, the bird catches a worm, cuts it into pieces, and devours it. Also, he drinks dewdrops from the grass and then slowly hops aside to let the beetle pass. The bird, fearful, looks around quickly with rapid eyes. Both the speaker and the bird are trying to surmount their fears because the bird is walking in a strange land and the narrator is on his path. The speaker gently offers him a crumb, but, instead of taking, he unrolled his feathers and takes his flight back home. The speaker notices his departure and elegantly describes his casual walk.

Major Themes in “A Bird, Came down the Walk”: Nature’s beauty, human connection with nature, and self-consciousness are the major themes of this poem. At first glance, the poem seems simply about a bird that comes down to satisfy his hunger and departs gently without bringing any harm to the earth. On a deeper level, the poem explains the inner self-conscious nature of man versus bird. Normally, nature acts as a mother that provides comfort to every living creature. However, here, it frightens the bird and leaves the speaker shy. Keeping the fear of being caught in mind, the bird walks away whereas the writer’s interaction with the bird is also somewhat suspenseful.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in “A Bird, Came Down the Walk”

Literary devices are tools used by writers to convey their emotions, ideas, and themes to make texts more appealing to the reader. Emily Dickinson has also used some literary devices in this poem to make it appealing. The analysis of some of the literary devices used in this poem has been listed below.

1. Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line. For example, the sound of /o/ in ‘And rowed him softer Home’ and the sound of /i/ in ‘They looked like frightened Beads, I thought’.

2.  Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession. For example, the sound of /l/ in ‘They looked like frightened Beads, I thought’.

3.    Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line. For example, the sound of /d/ in ‘And then hopped sidewise to the Wall’ and the sound of /n/ in ‘And then, he drank a Dew’.

4.  Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break. Instead, it is continued in the next line or verse. For example,

“And then hopped sidewise to the Wall

To let a Beetle pass.”

5.    Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example, “A Bird, came down the Walk”, “He bit an Angle Worm in halves” and “I offered him a Crumb.”

6.   Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between different persons and objects. For example, the bird’s head is compared with velvet in the last line of the third stanza, ‘He stirred his Velvet Head’.

7.  Personification: Personification is to give human qualities to inanimate objects. For example, the bird is personified throughout the poem. The poet uses ‘he’ instead of ‘it’ in the following verses, ‘He bit an Angle Worm in halves’, ‘And he unrolled his feathers’, ‘And rowed him softer Home’.

8. Simile: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between different persons and objects by using ‘like’ or ‘as’. For example, bird’s eyes are compared with beads in ‘They looked like frightened Beads, I thought’.

9.  Symbolism: Symbolism is a use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by giving them symbolic meanings different from their literal meanings. Dreams symbolize hope and sadness.

 

Saumya Aloysius

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