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Analysis - A Bird, Came Down The Walk

The poem depicts a bird coming down a walk through five quatrains of iambic trimeter. It provides vivid imagery of the bird's unscripted behaviors like eating a worm in halves and drinking dew from grass. The poem reflects on human observation of nature, the cycle of life and death, and finding beauty in the simplicity and vulnerability of the natural world.

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Noël Perera
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2K views3 pages

Analysis - A Bird, Came Down The Walk

The poem depicts a bird coming down a walk through five quatrains of iambic trimeter. It provides vivid imagery of the bird's unscripted behaviors like eating a worm in halves and drinking dew from grass. The poem reflects on human observation of nature, the cycle of life and death, and finding beauty in the simplicity and vulnerability of the natural world.

Uploaded by

Noël Perera
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Poem A Bird, came down the Walk - Analysis

Structure and Style:

The poem is composed of five quatrains, with each stanza containing


four lines.

The meter of the poem is primarily iambic trimeter, with the first and
third lines of each quatrain having a syllable count of 6-8-6 and the
second and fourth lines having a syllable count of 6-8-6.

Imagery and Description:

The poem presents a vivid and detailed observation of a bird's actions


and behaviors as it comes down a walk.

It captures the bird's natural and unscripted movements, making the


reader feel as though they are witnessing the scene firsthand.

Themes:

Nature and Natural Behavior: The poem immerses the reader in the
world of nature. It portrays the bird's unadulterated actions, such as
biting the angle worm in halves and drinking dew from the grass. The
portrayal of these natural behaviors highlights the simplicity and beauty
of the bird's existence.

Human Observation of Nature: The poem reflects the human inclination


to observe and interact with the natural world. The narrator quietly
watches the bird's activities, underscoring the connection between
humans and nature and the fascination of witnessing these moments.
Cycle of Life and Death: The bird's consumption of the worm and the
cautious look in its eyes after being offered a crumb emphasize the
constant cycle of life and death in the natural world. The poem
highlights the bird's instinctual survival behavior, which can be both
beautiful and harsh.

Vulnerability and Caution: The bird's "frightened Beads" in its eyes


reveal its vulnerability in the face of potential danger. The narrator's
cautious offer of a crumb reminds us of the delicate balance in nature
and the impact of human interference.

Beauty and Grace in Nature: The poem finds beauty and grace in the
simplicity of nature. The bird is described with sensory and elegant
imagery, such as "Velvet Head," and its flight is compared to smooth
oars in the ocean and the graceful movement of butterflies. This
emphasizes the aesthetic and serene aspects of the natural world.

Tone:

The tone of the poem is observant and contemplative. It conveys a


sense of wonder at the bird's actions and the natural world's beauty.

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