A bird came down the Walk By Emily Dickinson (Comprehension and Analysis) As the poem begins, the poet

is described seeing the bird, the main character, down the path, most likely ne t to the poet!s ho"se# $he little creat"re is described as eating a raw angleworm, a%ter biting it in hal&es, a%terwards drinking a small drop o% water %rom a wet blade o% grass# According to the poet, a%ter this magni%icent %east, the bird '"mped aside to let a beetle pass# (t is depicted as being %rightened and ca"tio"s, its eyes betraying its emotional state# $his is the reason why, when the poet tried to gi&e it a small piece o% bread, the bea"ti%"l thing "nrolled its %eathers and %lied in a &ery s"btle and silent way, letting the witness contemplate its grace and bea"ty# $he poem talks abo"t %o"r creat"res# $he %irst one is the bird, which is the main %oc"s o% the poem# $he second one is the poor angleworm, the meal o% the bird# $he third one is the beetle, which the bird lets pass by stepping a bit aside# $he last one(s) are the b"tter%lies, to whose smooth %light o% wings the a"thor associates the %light o% the bird in the poem# $he poet "ses &is"al images o% the bird!s actions in a way so that the readers see the bird as the speaker sees it )) li&ing and reacting to its en&ironment# $he one image that ( %ind partic"larly e%%ecti&e is the one depicting the bird hopping aside to let the beetle pass, as it s"ggests a pre%erence o% %ood * worms o&er beetles# $he opening lines o% the poem describe nat"re in a rather realistic way# A striking e ample o% personi%ication, among all "sed in the poem, is that o% the bird!s eyes, comparing them to a pair o% %rightened beads, and ( %ind this partic"larly interesting beca"se it is &ery di%%ic"lt e&en to imagine a pair o% so"lless beads acting or e&en looking %rightened# $he idea o% this personi%ication is to create the image o% two incredibly bea"ti%"l eyes, shining like two balls o% glass with a pinch o% animate %right added# +oreo&er, the ne t line o%%ers a detail on the te t"re o% the bird!s %eathers, his ,el&et head respecti&ely# $he ne t line is de%initely re%erring to the bird, as there is no p"nct"ation mark at the end o% the -.th line, so there is a se/"ence o% r"n)on lines which ha&e the same s"b'ect# $he second possibility, that o% thinking at the a"thor as ca"tio"s and in danger, is "nlikely beca"se there is no %"ll stop at the end o% -.th line# $he bird!s "ni&erse is the sky, and this is why it doesn!t %ind the gro"nd a place to %eel good on# (t belongs to the bl"e in%inity0 there it can en'oy its li%e witho"t ha&ing to %ear %or its li%e at e&ery step and whene&er it is there, it %eels like home %or it# $here%ore the little creat"re %lies away in a &ery smooth and s"btle way# 1or a better description o% its %light, the poet "ses the comparison between %lying in sil&er air and rowing in an ocean o% water# As in the sil&er)like air the steam cannot be created, so the %light o% the bird is so grace%"l and bea"ti%"l# $his %light o% the bird is compared to that o% the b"tter%lies# $he last!s %light is described rather as a swim in the air, and not water# $he &erbs "sed to emphasi2e

this are leap and swim# Also, the "se o% plashless instead o% splashless is a way in which the poet rein%orces the idea o% b"tter%lies! swimming in the air# $he poet also "ses assonance in the last lines to describe the bea"ty and the elegance o% the bird!s %light# (t is to be noted the "se o% 3o!# 4 is elongated and elegant, e actly like the soaring bird# $he calming e%%ect o% words like "nrolled, (-5), rowed (-6), home (-6), oars (-7), ocean (-7), and or (-8) slow the rhythm o% the poem and allow the reader to %eel the speaker!s awe at the smoothness and bea"ty o% the bird!s %light# All these images o% the bird on gro"nd and in %light are, in %act, a metaphor to the h"man li%e# $he bird on the gro"nd is the man!s physical li%e on earth, as he is %ear%"l, %rightened, b"t also awkward, comical and an io"s# 4n the other hand, the bea"ti%"l bird in %light is the man!s so"l in its spirit"al home, %eeling %ree and happy and en'oying the bea"ty o% the bl"e in%inity#