“The Peace of Wild Things” Introduction

• Read the full text of “The Peace of Wild Things”

“The Peace of Wild Things” Summary

“The Peace of Wild Things” Themes

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  The Soothing Power of Nature

  Where this theme appears in the poem:

  • Lines 1-11

Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Peace of Wild Things”

• Lines 1-3

  When despair for ...
  ... lives may be,

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 4-5

  I go and ...
  ... great heron feeds.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 6-8

  I come into ...
  ... of grief.

  

  

  

  

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• Line 8

  I come into ... of still water.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 9-11

  And I feel ...
  ... and am free.

  

  

  

  

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“The Peace of Wild Things” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Allusion

  

  

  

  

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  Where allusion appears in the poem:

  • Line 8: “I come into the presence of still water.”

• Caesura

  

  

  

  

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  Where caesura appears in the poem:

  • Line 5: “water, and”
  • Line 8: “grief. I”
  • Line 10: “light. For”
  • Line 11: “world, and”

• Consonance

  

  

  

  

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  Where consonance appears in the poem:

  • Line 4: “down,” “where,” “wood drake”
  • Line 5: “rests,” “beauty,” “water,” “great,” “feeds”
  • Line 8: “still water”
  • Line 10: “waiting with”
  • Line 11: “rest,” “grace”

• End-Stopped Line

  

  

  

  

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  Where end-stopped line appears in the poem:

  • Line 3: “be,”
  • Line 5: “feeds.”
  • Line 8: “water.”
  • Line 11: “free.”

• Enjambment

  

  

  

  

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  Where enjambment appears in the poem:

  • Lines 1-2: “me / and”
  • Lines 2-3: “sound / in”
  • Lines 3-4: “be, / I”
  • Lines 4-5: “drake / rests”
  • Lines 6-7: “things / who”
  • Lines 7-8: “forethought / of”
  • Lines 9-10: “stars / waiting”
  • Lines 10-11: “time / I”

• Metaphor

  

  

  

  

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  Where metaphor appears in the poem:

  • Line 1: “When despair for the world grows in me”
  • Lines 7-8: “who do not / their lives with forethought / of grief.”
  • Line 7: “tax”
  • Lines 9-10: “the day-blind stars / waiting with their light”

• Paradox

  

  

  

  

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  Where paradox appears in the poem:

  • Line 6: “the peace of wild things”

• Parallelism

  

  

  

  

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  Where parallelism appears in the poem:

  • Line 3: “my,” “life,” “my,” “lives”
  • Line 4: “I go”
  • Line 6: “I come”
  • Line 8: “I come”
  • Line 9: “I feel”
  • Line 11: “I rest”

“The Peace of Wild Things” 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.

• Least
• Wood Drake
• Heron
• Tax
• Forethought

• (Location in poem: Lines 2-2: “I wake in the night at the / sound”; Line 2: “least”)

Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Peace of Wild Things”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“The Peace of Wild Things” Speaker

“The Peace of Wild Things” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “The Peace of Wild Things”

More “The Peace of Wild Things” Resources

• External Resources

  • The Poem Out Loud — Listen to a reading by the poet himself.  

  • Berry in the New Yorker — Check out a rare interview with the poet exploring contemporary political issues.

  • Berry's Biography — Read more about Berry's life and work via the Poetry Foundation. 

  • Berry on Life — An interview with the poet that discusses his principles and way of life.