Composition and publication history
• The inspiration for the poem occurred in December 1815 when Bryant, then 21, was walking from Cummington to Plainfield to look for a place to settle as a lawyer. The duck, flying across the sunset, seemed to Bryant as solitary a soul as himself, inspiring him to write the poem that evening. • "To a Waterfowl" was first published in the North American Review in Volume 6, Issue 18, March 1818. It was later published in the collection Poems in 1821.
Critical response
• Matthew Arnold praised it as "the best short poem in the language", and the poet and critic Richard Wilbur has described it as "America's first flawless poem".
His Subject
• The beauty and harmony of nature as a source of solace, joy and escape • The dignity of humanity • The sacredness of human freedom • The power and beneficence of God • Political and philosophical issues
• Just as God guides the waterfowl to its summer home, so too He guides the speaker of the poem through life to his ultimate destination, heaven. • The poem is, in essence, a profession of faith in God.
His Contribution
• 1. He was the first American national poet. • 2. He provided what the nation needed at a time of national selfconsciousness. • 3. He made American subjects worthy of celebration.
The Theme
• Nature reinforces happiness and softens sorrow, death is part of nature, destiny of all, and the great equalizer. • His poems idealize the advantages of life in the country over life in the city. • He insists upon the rights of the individual but maintains that the individual possesses certain duties toward his fellowman.
• Bryant developed an interest in poetry early in life. Under his father's tutelage, he emulated Alexander Pope and other Neo-Classic British poets. “The Embargo”, a savage attack on President Thomas Jefferson published in 1808, reflected Dr. Bryant's Federalist political views. The first edition quickly sold out—partly because of the publicity earned by the poet's young age—and a second, expanded edition, which included Bryant's translation of Classical verse, was printed. The youth wrote little poetry while preparing to enter Williams College as ailliams after a single year and then beginning to read law, he regenerated his passion for poetry through encounter with the English pre-Romantics and, particularly, William Wordsworth.
His Style
• • • • Conventional style on the whole Lyric and thoughtful Serious and dignified Blank verse without rhyme
Summary of the poem
• The narrator questions where the waterfowl is going. He questions his motives for flying. He warns the waterfowl that he could possibly find danger, traveling alone. But, this waterfowl is not alone. He knows that the waterfowl is being led by some Power（神秘主义mysticism）. As the waterfowl reaches out of the narrator's sight, the narrator reflects on God's guidance in his own life. The narrator is sure that God has led this waterfowl, and that the waterfowl had faith in the narrator. Now, the narrator's faith is strengthened. He knows that God is guiding him as well. • As the narrator sees God directing the waterfowl, the narrator is reminded of God's guidance in his own life. Through his observance in nature, the narrator is reconnected with his faith in God.
Theme
Meter
• In each stanza, the poet uses iambic trimeter in lines 1 and 4 but iambic pentameter in lines 2 and 3. The second stanza illustrates this format: • vain LY / the FOWL / er’s EYE trimeter might MARK / thy DIST / ant FLIGHT / to DO / thee WRONG, pentameter as, DARK / ly SEEN / a GAINST / the CRIM /son SKY, pentameter thy FIG / ure FLOATS / a LONG. trimeter
Analysis
• “To a Waterfowl” is written in iambic trimeter（抑扬三部格） and iambic pentameter（抑扬格五音部）, consisting of eight stanzas of four lines. The poem represents early stages of American Romanticism through celebration of Nature and God's presence within Nature. • Bryant is acknowledged as skillful at depicting American scenery but his natural details are often combined with a universal moral, as in "To a Waterfowl".
Main works
• 1808 The Embargo 禁运，a satirical poem in reaction against Jefferson’s trade restrictions • 1817 Thanatopsis 死亡冥想brought him his first success but also general attention to his extraordinary genius. • 1821 Poems consisting of eight of his poems “To a Waterfowl”, “Thanatopsis”,and “The Yellow Violet”. • 1870 Poetical translations of Homer’s Iliad and 1871 Odyssey • Library of Poetry and Song