To a Waterfowl - North American Review, March 1818

"To a Waterfowl" is a poem by American poet

William Cullen Bryant William Cullen Bryant (November 3, 1794 – June 12, 1878) was an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the ''New York Evening Post''. Born in Massachusetts, he started his career as a lawyer but showed an interest in poetry ...

, first published in 1818.

Summary

The narrator questions where the waterfowl is going and questions his motives for flying. He warns the waterfowl that he could possibly find danger, traveling alone. But this waterfowl is not alone; it is being led by some Power. As the waterfowl disappears out of the narrator's sight, the narrator reflects on God's guidance in his own life. The narrator is sure that God has led this waterfowl, and that the waterfowl had faith in the narrator. Now, the narrator's faith is strengthened. He knows that God is guiding him as well.Cummings, Michael J. "To a Waterfowl." Cummings Study Guides N.p., 2008. Web. 8 Feb. 2010. . As the narrator sees God directing the waterfowl, the narrator is reminded of God's guidance in his own life. Through his observance in nature, the narrator is reconnected with his faith in God.

Composition and publication history

Bryant wrote the poem in July 1815. He was inspired after walking from Cummington to Plainfield to look for a place to settle as a lawyer. The duck, flying across the sunset, seemed to Bryant as solitary a soul as himself, and he wrote the poem that evening. "To a Waterfowl" was first published in the ''

North American Review The ''North American Review'' (NAR) was the first literary magazine in the United States. It was founded in Boston in 1815 by journalist Nathan Hale and others. It was published continuously until 1940, after which it was inactive until revived at ...

'' in Volume 6, Issue 18, March 1818.''The chronology of American literature: America's literary achievements from the colonial era to modern times'', Daniel S. Burt, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2004 It was later published in the collection ''Poems'' in 1821.

Critical response

Matthew Arnold Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the celebrated headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, lit ...

praised it as "the best short poem in the language", and the poet and critic

Richard Wilbur Richard Purdy Wilbur (March 1, 1921 – October 14, 2017) was an American poet and literary translator. One of the foremost poets of his generation, Wilbur's work, composed primarily in traditional forms, was marked by its wit, charm, and gentle ...

has described it as "America's first flawless poem". The narrator in

George du Maurier George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier (6 March 1834 – 8 October 1896) was a Franco-British cartoonist and writer known for work in ''Punch'' and a Gothic novel ''Trilby'', featuring the character Svengali. His son was the actor Sir Gerald ...

's "Peter Ibbetson" calls it "the most beautiful poem in the world".

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 Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

through celebration of Nature and God's presence within Nature. Bryant is acknowledged as skillful at depicting American scenery but his natural details are often combined with a universal moral, as in "To a Waterfowl".Ruland, Richard and Malcolm Bradbury. ''From Puritanism to Postmodernism: A History of American Literature''. New York: Viking, 1991: 75–76.

Figures of speech

alliteration Alliteration is the conspicuous repetition of initial consonant sounds of nearby words in a phrase, often used as a literary device. A familiar example is "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers". Alliteration is used poetically in various ...

: While, Whither (lines 1-2); depths, dost (line 3); their, thou, thy (lines 3-); distant, do, darkly (lines 6-7) *

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wi ...

: last steps of day (comparison of the day to a creature that walks). * anaphora: repetition of soon (lines 21, 22, 24). Anaphora is the repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of word groups occurring one after the other. Examples: (1) Give me wine, give me women and give me song. (2) For everything there is a season . . . a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted.—Bible, Ecclesiastes. * personification: The speaker addresses the waterfowl as if it were a person, saying it has taught a lesson; he also refers to other waterfowls as fellows (line 23). * apostrophe: The speaker addresses the waterfowl as if it could respond back *

: on my heart / deeply hath sunk the lesson (comparison of the heart to the intellect)

References

External links

* {{Wikisource-inline, single=true
''To a Waterfowl'' at Project Gutenberg

On Bryant's 'To a Waterfowl'
, by John M. Grondelski, ''Crisis Magazine, December 3, 2018 1821 poems Works originally published in the North American Review