William Cullen Bryant is said to have written “To a Waterfowl” while walking in the environs of
Cummington, Massachusetts
(the rural village where he spent his childhood). … If “To a Waterfowl” evokes an early nineteenth-century version of rural Massachusetts, it also evokes a less external setting: the heart of man.
What is the tone of To a Waterfowl?
In the famous poem “To a Waterfowl” by William Cullen Bryant, the narrator observes a bird flying alone high in the sky while he’s on a walk. The overall
mood is contemplative
. The narrator uses the sighting of the bird to think about the existence of God and relate it to his own life.
Who is the speaker in To a Waterfowl?
In the final stanza of ‘To a Waterfowl,’ the speaker refers to
God
, “He” who “Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight.” It’s God who helped the bird to its destination and who helped it maintain its strength when the night grew cold and lonely.
How is To a Waterfowl romantic?
The poem respresents the early stages of American romanticism which looked
to nature
to find God and the celebration of Nature and God’s presence within Nature. Bryant turns to Nature and trusts in the lessons he can glean from it. …
What is the lesson in To a Waterfowl?
The waterfowl keeps flying and flying, refusing to leave the cold air of the atmosphere for a nice nest down below. Suddenly the speaker can’t see the bird anymore, but the bird’s lesson will always be with him:
God, or something very much like Him, will be there to guide him when he feels most alone
.
What is the rhyme scheme of to a waterfowl?
If you’ve read our “Form and Meter” section, you know that each stanza in the poem has a rhyme scheme of
ABAB
(where each letter represents that line’s end rhyme). This ensures that the first and third lines of each stanza are connected in some way (via sound, if not other things).
What kind of poem is to a waterfowl?
Analysis. “To a Waterfowl” is written in iambic trimeter and iambic pentameter, consisting of eight stanzas of four lines. The poem represents
early stages of American Romanticism through celebration of Nature and God’s presence within Nature
.
What does the waterfowl symbolize?
The duck symbolizes
clarity, family, love, vigilance, intuition, nurturing, protection, feelings, self-expression, balance, adaptation, grace, and strength
.
What does the flight of the waterfowl symbolize to the speaker?
For the speaker of this poem, the waterfowl symbolizes something very profound:
the existence of a “Power,” a spirit, a.k.a. God, informing and directing the universe itself
. Not only that, the waterfowl is also a double for the speaker himself.
What is the theme of the poem Thanatopsis?
The theme of ‘Thanatopsis’ is
life and death
. The poem is divided into three main sections. The first section is what you might call the introduction. It introduces the idea that nature has answers for life’s musings, including those of death.
What does the Fowler symbolize in to a waterfowl?
It could mean “proudly” as if the fowler is confident he can take down the bird. … The tone at the end of the poem signifies
nature revealing truth
; through the flight of the bird, the poet understands that a higher power is guiding him along the proper path.
What does the first stanza of To a Waterfowl describe?
In the first stanza of the poem,
he can’t ask where the waterfowl is going without launching into a description of the “falling dew,” the glow of the heavens, and how this glow appears like a series of “rosy depths
.” Later on, he draws upon his observations of various aquatic environments to talk about a “weedy lake,” …
What guides the weary waterfowl in its flight?
“He who, from zone to zone, Guides through boundless sky thy certain flight, In the long way that I must tread alone, Will lead my steps aright.”
Will lead my steps aright?
He, who, from zone to zone, Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight, In the long way that I must trace alone, Will lead my steps aright.
When was to a waterfowl written?
To a Waterfowl, lyric poem by William Cullen Bryant, published in
1818
and collected in Poems (1821).
