"To a Waterfowl," by the American poet William Cullen Bryant, first appeared in a literary journal in 1818 before being published in Bryant's 1821 collection Poems. In the poem, a speaker watches a waterfowl fly across the sky and reflects on the similarity between the bird's long, lonely journey and the speaker's life. The bird's perilous flight also pushes the speaker to express faith in God, who, the poem argues, guides all creatures through difficult times. Bryant allegedly wrote the poem after seeing a bird in flight while walking in Cummington, Massachusetts, the town where he grew up.
|
Get
LitCharts
|
|
The Full Text of “To a Waterfowl”
1Whither, 'midst falling dew,
2While glow the heavens with the last steps of day,
3Far, through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue
4Thy solitary way?
5Vainly the fowler’s eye
6Might mark thy distant flight, to do thee wrong,
7As, darkly seen against the crimson sky,
8Thy figure floats along.
9Seek’st thou the plashy brink
10Of weedy lake, or marge of river wide,
11Or where the rocking billows rise and sink
12On the chaféd ocean side?
13There is a Power, whose care
14Teaches thy way along that pathless coast,—
15The desert and illimitable air
16Lone wandering, but not lost.
17All day thy wings have fanned,
18At that far height, the cold thin atmosphere;
19Yet stoop not, weary, to the welcome land,
20Though the dark night is near.
21And soon that toil shall end,
22Soon shalt thou find a summer home, and rest,
23And scream among thy fellows; reeds shall bend,
24Soon, o’er thy sheltered nest.
25Thou’rt gone, the abyss of heaven
26Hath swallowed up thy form, yet, on my heart
27Deeply hath sunk the lesson thou hast given,
28And shall not soon depart.
29He, who, from zone to zone,
30Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight,
31In the long way that I must trace alone,
32Will lead my steps aright.
The Full Text of “To a Waterfowl”
1Whither, 'midst falling dew,
2While glow the heavens with the last steps of day,
3Far, through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue
4Thy solitary way?
5Vainly the fowler’s eye
6Might mark thy distant flight, to do thee wrong,
7As, darkly seen against the crimson sky,
8Thy figure floats along.
9Seek’st thou the plashy brink
10Of weedy lake, or marge of river wide,
11Or where the rocking billows rise and sink
12On the chaféd ocean side?
13There is a Power, whose care
14Teaches thy way along that pathless coast,—
15The desert and illimitable air
16Lone wandering, but not lost.
17All day thy wings have fanned,
18At that far height, the cold thin atmosphere;
19Yet stoop not, weary, to the welcome land,
20Though the dark night is near.
21And soon that toil shall end,
22Soon shalt thou find a summer home, and rest,
23And scream among thy fellows; reeds shall bend,
24Soon, o’er thy sheltered nest.
25Thou’rt gone, the abyss of heaven
26Hath swallowed up thy form, yet, on my heart
27Deeply hath sunk the lesson thou hast given,
28And shall not soon depart.
29He, who, from zone to zone,
30Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight,
31In the long way that I must trace alone,
32Will lead my steps aright.
-
“To a Waterfowl” Summary
-
-
“To a Waterfowl” Themes
-
Faith in God
- See where this theme is active in the poem.
-
-
Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “To a Waterfowl”
-
Lines 1-4
Whither, 'midst falling dew,
While glow the heavens with the last steps of day,
Far, through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue
Thy solitary way? -
Lines 5-8
Vainly the fowler’s eye
Might mark thy distant flight, to do thee wrong,
As, darkly seen against the crimson sky,
Thy figure floats along. -
Lines 9-12
Seek’st thou the plashy brink
Of weedy lake, or marge of river wide,
Or where the rocking billows rise and sink
On the chaféd ocean side? -
Lines 13-16
There is a Power, whose care
Teaches thy way along that pathless coast,—
The desert and illimitable air
Lone wandering, but not lost. -
Lines 17-20
All day thy wings have fanned,
At that far height, the cold thin atmosphere;
Yet stoop not, weary, to the welcome land,
Though the dark night is near. -
Lines 21-24
And soon that toil shall end,
Soon shalt thou find a summer home, and rest,
And scream among thy fellows; reeds shall bend,
Soon, o’er thy sheltered nest. -
Lines 25-28
Thou’rt gone, the abyss of heaven
Hath swallowed up thy form, yet, on my heart
Deeply hath sunk the lesson thou hast given,
And shall not soon depart. -
Lines 29-32
He, who, from zone to zone,
Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight,
In the long way that I must trace alone,
Will lead my steps aright.
-
-
“To a Waterfowl” Symbols
-
The Waterfowl's Journey
- See where this symbol appears in the poem.
-
The Sky
- See where this symbol appears in the poem.
-
-
“To a Waterfowl” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
-
Apostrophe
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Alliteration
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Metaphor
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Personification
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Anaphora
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Imagery
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Caesura
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Enjambment
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Consonance
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
-
“To a Waterfowl” 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.
- Whither
- 'Midst
- Dost
- Thou
- Thy
- Vainly
- Fowler
- Mark
- Thee
- Seek'st
- Plashy
- Brink
- Marge
- Billows
- Chaféd
- Desert
- Illimitable
- Thou'rt
- Abyss
- Hath
- Hast
- Aright
-
- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
-
Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “To a Waterfowl”
-
Form
-
Meter
-
Rhyme Scheme
-
-
“To a Waterfowl” Speaker
-
-
“To a Waterfowl” Setting
-
-
Literary and Historical Context of “To a Waterfowl”
-
-
More “To a Waterfowl” Resources
-
External Resources
-
Biography of William Cullen Bryant — A detailed account of Bryant's life and work, via the Poetry Foundation
-
A Brief Guide to the Fireside Poets — An overview of the Fireside Poets from the Academy of American Poets.
-
Why Animals Don't Get Lost — A New Yorker article on contemporary research into the ways birds and other animals navigate.
-
The Waterfowl — Learn more about the species of bird that the speaker addresses throughout the poem.
-
-
LitCharts on Other Poems by William Cullen Bryant
-
Ask LitCharts AI:
The answer to your questions
Powered by LitCharts content and AI.
