‘To a Waterfowl' by William Cullen Bryant is a
moving poem about perseverance in the face of hardship, God, and Heaven
. … As the poem concludes, the speaker says that he thinks God led the waterfowl there as a reminder of God's presence in his own life. He sought to give the speaker strength through this sign.
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 does the Fowler represent in to a waterfowl?
So, what does it describe? It's a bit tricky, but if you read through the stanza, “vainly” describes the fowler's
(a guy who hunts birds)
attempt to “mark,” or follow, the waterfowl's journey across the sky. In other words, it would be in vain (useless) for the fowler to follow the path in an effort to kill it.
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 type of poem is to a waterfowl?
Type of Work and Date of Publication
“To a Waterfowl” is
a lyric poem
of eight four-line stanzas presenting the musings of a person observing a soaring waterfowl. Bryant completed the poem in 1818 and published it in a collection, Poems, in 1821.
Why Is To a Waterfowl a romantic poem?
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 do you think is a waterfowl?
Waterfowl are
birds that are strong swimmers with waterproof feathers and webbed feet
. They use their webbed feet as flippers to push through the water. Ducks, geese, and swans are waterfowl. … Most kinds of waterfowl are vegetarian, grazing on water weeds or grass, but some hunt for fish, snails, or insects.
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.
What do Fowler mean?
(Entry 1 of 3) :
a person who hunts wildfowl
.
Fowler
. biographical name (1) Fow·ler | ˈfau̇-lər
What does Plashy brink mean?
The speaker doesn't just ask if the bird is headed towards a lake, a river, or the ocean, but if he's headed toward a “plashy brink,” that means
edge of a place that's full of puddles, like edge of a lake
.
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.
How does the waterfowl flight affect the poet's imagination?
The bird also teaches the poet a life-altering lesson, much like Jesus Christ does with his followers.
Flapping of the wings
– The rhythmic flapping of the bird's wings evoke auditory images of the beating heart. In this case, the flapping represents something life-giving that is autonomous, yet guided by something.
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 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,” …
To a Waterfowl, lyric poem by
William Cullen Bryant
, published in 1818 and collected in Poems (1821). It is written in alternately rhymed quatrains.
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.
