Emily Dickinson is one of America’s most beloved poets. She wrote of nature, love, and death. It is said that Dickinson wrote 1800 poems, the majority of which were untitled. Dickinson was known to be somewhat reclusive and introverted throughout her life. These traits, however, did not preclude her from observing and appreciating even the simplest forms of her natural surroundings. One of Dickinson’s poems involving nature is “A Bird Came Down the Walk-.” It is this poem that will be discussed here. Dickinson’s poetry is of a personal quality, not only to the poet, but to the reader, as well. The first argument is that the methods of Dickinson’s writing, especially in regards to this particular poem, encourage the reader to become personally involved in the poetry. Her use of “sounds” and visual imagery invite the reader to conceive the observations within the poem on their own level, or to simply recall similar incidents in their past. The second argument is that the poem is just that: a poem, plainly put. It tells of a human being observing nature, specifically the acts of a bird. That’s it. There is no dark, hidden message to dissect and interpret. One need not pore over it for hours, and peel back the layers, in order to understand it. What is unique, however, are the ways in which Dickinson employs sound, imagery and other devices, such as personification, to provoke a personal experience for the reader. Thus the reader becomes “personally” involved in the observances. This paper will discuss the methods mentioned above to explain how Dickinson’s readers are able to personalize even a simple poem on their own individual level.
The first of Dickinson’s methods to be discussed is that of “sounds,” including meter, rhyme and rhythm, and sound metaphor. The second to be considered will be Dickinson’s use of visual imagery (including metaphor), and finally her use of personification and humor.
One of the sounds used by Dickinson is that of meter. The meter of a poem is that which gives it a rhythm, or almost musical quality. It is with this method that she is able to engage the reader from the beginning. The verses are inviting, and encourage the reader to delve further into the poem. In this way, Dickinson personalizes the poem and is able to tempt the reader to individualize it. When considering “A Bird Came Down the Walk,” the first two stanzas impart the sense of meter, or rhythm. For instance, in lines 1-4, the inflection of the syllables is evident: “A BIRD came down the WALK; He DID not know I SAW; He BIT an Angle Worm in HALVES; And ATE the fellow RAW” (Dickinson 693). This accentuation gives the poem, an almost “sing-song” type of rhythm, also described as euphony. It is pleasing to the inner voice of the reader. O’Connor (n.p.), writes, “Dickinson valued the musicality of words and she loved a hymnal beat.”
Rhyme is another of the sounds to be considered in the poem. Rhyme generally appeals to a reader of poetry, especially to those not familiar with other types of poetic form. Rhyme, too, conveys the sense of a musical quality, and is more likely to engage the reader. The first and second stanzas of the poem possesses an obvious rhyme scheme. The words “saw” and “raw” (Line 2 &4), and the words “Grass” and “pass” (Line 6 & 8), most obviously rhyme (Dickinson 693). Dickinson utilized “slant rhyme,” as well. Slant rhyme is the use of words that, when read individually do not seem to rhyme, but when read in a poem, actually impart similar sounds. Two examples of Dickinson’s slant rhymes in the poem are the words used in lines 17 and 19: “crumb/ home, “and lines 18 and 20: “seam/swim” (693). As a person reads the poem the first time, the slant rhyme may be somewhat evident, but upon further reading (as any serious reader of poetry should), the slant rhyme becomes more obvious. On the other hand, slant rhyme may allow the average person, especially when reading poetry for the first time, to be able to connect to the poem on a more personal level.
Alliteration is another type of sound employed. Like many poets, Emily Dickinson made use of alliteration. Alliteration is generally described as words written together with the same consonant sound, such as “baby buggy,” or “common cause.” The rules of alliteration are not that strict, however. In this poem, for instance, Dickinson’s use of alliteration was not necessarily “back to back,” as the examples mentioned above. Her use of consonant sounds, although separated, can be seen as alliteration. The following examples are from the second stanza, “And then, he drank a Dew” (Lines 5-6). “Drank” and “Dew” are an alliteration, although the words are not formed next to each other. Another example is from the last verse. The words “silver” and “stream,” and “Butterflies” and “Banks,” (Dickinson 693), can be interpreted as alliteration, although these words are not “neighboring.” What personalizes alliteration, is that people employ alliteration every day without even being aware of it. This is just a poem, after all. The alliteration however, gives it a more personal quality with which the reader is able to identify. While reading this simple poem, the alliteration becomes obvious. Perhaps before reading the poem, one would not be aware that “credit card” or “football fan” are alliterations.
Emily Dickinson’s poems possess many forms of metaphor. One does not normally associate metaphor with sound, however in this particular poem, Dickinson’s metaphor is of sound and visual imagery. Dickinson’s use of sound metaphor is evident in the last two stanzas of the poem. She writes, the bird is “rowed softer Than Oars divide the Ocean,” and, “ButterfliesLeap, plashless as they swim.” The words “softer,” and “plashless (splashless)” suggest the quiet and silence of the bird and the butterflies (693). This is how a metaphor can be used to imply sound, or in this case, no sound; silence. In these words the reader is able to imagine the flight of a bird flying soundlessly into the air. And who among readers has ever heard a butterfly make a sound? This is another way in which Dickinson reminds the reader of their own personal experiences regarding nature.
The second use of Dickinson’s methods to be discussed is that of visual imagery. It is her visual description of the entire encounter that most enables the reader to connect with the narrator, and thereby the poem itself. The initial lines of the poem are obviously visual. The persona observes a bird on the walk. He bites a worm in half. Simple. No dark or unsung secrets here. The bird is simply finding food to survive. The bird goes on to drink from a leaf of grass. Simple again, in doing what it needs to live. The narrator observes that the bird hops onto a wall when a bug happens by. The bird looks around cautiously. Dickinson (693) writes, “He glanced with rapid eyes/That hurried all around---/They looked like frightened Beads, I thought---/He stirred his Velvet Head//Like one in danger, Cautious,” (Lines 9-13). There is no interpretation to be done here. The bird is simply trying to discern if there may be a threat. It could be from a cat, a sparrow hawk, or even a human. The narrator offers the bird a crumb, and like any bird would, it flies away. These descriptions are quite visual. They allow the reader to personally relate to the story. Many have witnessed the same happenings. This is how Dickinson, at least initially, is able to relate to the reader on a personal level. These “basic” images are those with which one can easily identify.
The use of her metaphor, as discussed earlier, is visual, as well. This is definitely an example of Dickinson’s practice of her art of visual imagery. One cannot portray it, other than to quote the entire lines (Line 16-20): “And he unrolled his feathers, /And rowed him softer Home/Than Oars divide the Ocean/Too silver for a seam/Or Butterflies, off Banks of Noon, Leap, plashless as they swim” (Dickinson 693).
Dickinson’s imagery in this case allows the reader to experience the fluid movement of a bird as it unfurls its feathers and takes flight. The bird flies with a smoothness, and silence. She compares the bird’s flight into the air with the butterflies that leap without a sound into the sky. Although suggesting silence, and no disturbance of the peace, she is able to conjure a vision of the actions of the bird and the butterflies. Again, one is drawn to imagine these visions, whether never viewed before, or to recall one’s previous experiences.
Lastly, personification will be explored. Personification is the writer’s attempt to bring a “human” characteristic to a non-human being. In Lines 2-4, Dickinson refers to the bird and the worm as “he” and the “fellow.” She writes, “He did not know I saw-/He bit an Angleworm in Halves/And ate the fellow, raw,” She then writes (Line 5), “And then he drank a Dew” She does not refer to the bird as “it,” or to the worm as “a worm.” Many people refer to a dog, even if they are not familiar with the animal, as “he,” or a cat as “she.” Employing personification is another way in which Dickinson engages the reader and brings the poem to a more personal level.
Dickinson was not without a sense of humor. It is her use of personification in which her wit is evident. For instance, she describes the poor worm as “the fellow,” being chopped in half and eaten raw. It is as if to summon some sympathy from the reader. Most people, however, would have little (if any) sympathy for a worm, unless of course, it was referred to as a “fellow.” This is amusing (or perhaps disgusting) to the reader, and so it commands attention to the rest of the poem. Dickinson is almost satirical with her words. She goes on to describe how the bird “then hopped sideways to the Wall/ To let a Beetle pass.” (Dickinson 693, Lines 7-8). That in itself is humorous, as if the bird actually had the regard to give “Mr. Beetle” the right of way. Birds don’t care whether a beetle passes or not. The humor in this is that Dickinson, again, personifies the bird as having some regard or respect for the bug. Her depictions, especially of the bird, give all the creatures an almost anthropomorphic quality. Her personification of them is another means by which Dickinson is able to allow the reader a personal interest in the poem. Again, it is not a work that needs to be interpreted or analyzed. It is a simple poem that brings enjoyment to the person reading it.
Emily Dickinson was a talented and gifted poet. Her works will endear and endure for many years, just as they have for the last one and a half centuries. Perhaps it was her own personal connection to her poetry that allows us, as readers to connect as well. Much of her work is deeper and more “intimate” than the poem discussed here. “A Bird Came Down the Walk-,” however, is one in which the reader can find simple pleasure, because it is a simple poem. It requires little involvement, other than the reading, and it can be appreciated by those who have witnessed the most simplistic of nature, even if only to watch a bird.
Works Cited
Dickinson, Emily. “A Bird Came Down the Walk-.” The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. 10th Ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s 2014. 693. Print.
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O’Connor, Nuala. “The 10 Best Emily Dickinson Poems.” 2015. Publishers Weekly. Web. 29 April, 2016.
Poetry Foundation. 2016. “Biography-Emily Dickinson.” Web. 28 April, 2016.
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