Thursday, November 8, 2012

What is the mood in the poem "To a Waterfowl" by William Cullen Bryant?

The mood of William Cullen Bryant's "To a Waterfowl" is contemplative and reverent. In the opening stanza, the speaker asks the bird where it goes at sunset. In the next, he observes that a hunter would be unable to harm it. In the third stanza, the speaker speculates on places the bird might go. In the fourth stanza, the speaker states that a "Power," presumably divine, guides the bird. The fifth stanza observes that the bird is protected and sustained on its long journey, and the sixth predicts that the bird will find a new home among its companions at the end of its journey. In the second to last stanza, the bird has disappeared from view, but the speaker knows he has learned a lasting lesson from it. The final stanza reveals the lesson: the same "Power" that guides the bird will guide him through his life as well. It is a poem about faith in God being affirmed in nature, so the mood is reflective.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thomas Jefferson's election in 1800 is sometimes called the Revolution of 1800. Why could it be described in this way?

Thomas Jefferson’s election in 1800 can be called the “Revolution of 1800” because it was the first time in America’s short history that pow...