“A Bird, came down the Walk” Summary

“A Bird, came down the Walk” Themes

• 

  The Beauty and Brutality of Nature

  • See where this theme is active in the poem.

Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “A Bird, came down the Walk”

• Lines 1-2

  A Bird, came down the Walk—
  He did not know I saw—

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

• Lines 3-4

  He bit an Angle Worm in halves
  And ate the fellow, raw,

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

• Lines 5-8

  And then, he drank a Dew
  From a convenient Grass—
  And then hopped sidewise to the Wall
  To let a Beetle pass—

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

• Lines 9-12

  He glanced with rapid eyes,
  That hurried all abroad—
  They looked like frightened Beads, I thought,
  He stirred his Velvet Head.—

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

• Lines 13-14

  Like one in danger, Cautious,
  I offered him a Crumb,

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

• Lines 15-18

  And he unrolled his feathers,
  And rowed him softer Home—
  Than Oars divide the Ocean,
  Too silver for a seam,

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

• Lines 19-20

  Or Butterflies, off Banks of Noon,
  Leap, plashless as they swim

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

“A Bird, came down the Walk” Symbols

• 

  The Bird

  • See where this symbol appears in the poem.

“A Bird, came down the Walk” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

• Assonance

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

• End-Stopped Line

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

• Simile

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

• Personification

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

“A Bird, came down the Walk” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Angle Worm
• Abroad
• Seam
• Banks of Noon
• Plashless

• • See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.

Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “A Bird, came down the Walk”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“A Bird, came down the Walk” Speaker

“A Bird, came down the Walk” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “A Bird, came down the Walk”

More “A Bird, came down the Walk” Resources

• External Resources

  • Background on the Poem's Punctuation — Read an excerpt of scholar Helen Vendler's essay on how Dickinson's punctuation works in this poem. The choice between a comma and a period makes a big difference!

  • The Emily Dickinson Museum — Visit the website of the Emily Dickinson museum for more information about her life and work.

  • A Manuscript of the Poem — See "A Bird, came down the Walk" in Dickinson's own handwriting.

  • The Poetry Foundation's Dickinson Page — Read a short biography of Dickinson, and find links to more of her poetry.

  • A Song Inspired by the Poem — Listen to a piece of instrumental music based on this poem. 

• LitCharts on Other Poems by Emily Dickinson

  • After great pain, a formal feeling comes –

  • A Light exists in Spring

  • A Murmur in the Trees—to note—

  • A narrow Fellow in the Grass

  • An awful Tempest mashed the air—

  • As imperceptibly as grief

  • A still—Volcano—Life—

  • Because I could not stop for Death —

  • Before I got my eye put out

  • Fame is a fickle food

  • Hope is the thing with feathers

  • I cannot live with You –

  • I cautious, scanned my little life

  • I could bring You Jewels—had I a mind to—

  • I did not reach Thee

  • I died for Beauty—but was scarce

  • I dreaded that first Robin, so

  • I dwell in Possibility –

  • I felt a Funeral, in my Brain

  • If I can stop one heart from breaking

  • I had been hungry, all the Years

  • I have a Bird in spring

  • I heard a Fly buzz - when I died -

  • I like a look of Agony

  • I like to see it lap the Miles

  • I measure every Grief I meet

  • I’m Nobody! Who are you?

  • I started Early — Took my Dog —

  • I taste a liquor never brewed

  • It was not Death, for I stood up

  • I—Years—had been—from Home—

  • Like Rain it sounded till it curved

  • Much Madness is divinest Sense -

  • My Life had stood - a Loaded Gun

  • Nature is what we see

  • One need not be a Chamber — to be Haunted

  • Publication — is the Auction

  • Safe in their Alabaster Chambers

  • Shipwreck

  • Success is counted sweetest

  • Tell all the truth but tell it slant —

  • The Brain—is wider than the Sky—

  • The Bustle in a House

  • The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants

  • There came a Wind like a Bugle

  • There is no Frigate like a Book

  • There's a certain Slant of light

  • There's been a Death, in the Opposite House

  • The saddest noise, the sweetest noise

  • The Sky is low — the Clouds are mean

  • The Soul has bandaged moments

  • The Soul selects her own Society

  • The Wind – tapped like a tired Man –

  • They shut me up in Prose –

  • This is my letter to the world

  • This World is not Conclusion

  • 'Twas the old—road—through pain—

  • We grow accustomed to the Dark

  • What mystery pervades a well!

  • Whose cheek is this?

  • Wild nights - Wild nights!