A Bird Came Down To Walk

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A Bird came Down to Walk The poem I picked is called "A Bird came Down to Walk". The poem goes into depth and shows how humans cannot control or fully understand nature. Dickinson shows how nature cannot be tamed. Even a little bird will not feed from her hand. At first she looks on as an observer. She approaches nature with the stereotypical superiority, she looks down and watches it eat a worm "raw". Then she personifies the bird as a gentleman "hopped sideways" for the beetle to pass. Yet the bird chooses to escape. By having the bird flee rather than take the crumb, Dickinson mocks the ignorance of man’s views of nature, as nature itself flees the tainted touch of mankind. The bird leaves and returns to a graceful, dignified atmosphere which is its home. In the last stanzas the bird transforms into a magnificent sight of grace, the tone follows the flow from humdrum dullness to a state of almost eerie awe. The narrator is looking up and away. The poem is by Emily Dickinson, Emily Dickinson, is said to be one of America’s greatest poets, is also well known for her unusual life of self imposed social seclusion. Living a life of simplicity and seclusion, she yet wrote poetry of great power, questioning the nature of immortality and death. Her different lifestyle created an aura, often romanticised, and frequently a source of interest and speculation. But ultimately Emily Dickinson is remembered for her unique poetry. Within short, compact phrases she expressed far-reaching ideas, and uncertainty in her poetry has an undeniable ability to move one. I picked the poem because the title seemed so simple, but I knew that the simplest of names mean nothing because the poem may be one of the most thought provoking poems ever written, with just a simple title. Another reason I picked the poem is because I had never heard of Emily Dickinson. I thought it would be

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