An Analysis of the Symbolism in the Poem Snowy Egret by Bruce Weigl Essay

Nature is an often used target of symbolism in many forms ofliterature. The natural world around us is filled with such ripe targets toproject meaning and values onto. Often these items take on a well known andobvious symbol a rose for beauty perhaps, or a bird to represent freedom.In the case of the poem "Snowy Egret" by Bruce Weigl (701) there is acentral symbol that acts both as a conventional symbol and as a literarysymbol. The egret is not only a symbol for the beauty of nature, but in thecontext of the poem becomes a symbol of the boys actions and how they havean effect on the relationship the boy has with his father. The egret in the poem is an obvious symbol for the beauty of nature.The poem even describes the act of it's demise as "blastingsuch beautyinto nothing" (34-35). The egret and its beauty are destroyed by the childwho "only meant to watch it fly" (20). This accidental destruction of theegret in an attempt to witness it's beauty could be a metaphor for humanityand it's attitude towards nature. Humans may often attest to loving andappreciating the beauty and majesty of the natural world, but often damageor destroy it as well. The boy is well meaning and feels intense guilt forthe death as "He says through tears that he has to bury it" (9). Though weoften try to hold reverence for the beauty of the world around us, we oftenend up doing more harm than good. The egret takes on a literary symbol over the course of the poem aswell. The egret and it's demise represent the problems boy may get into andthe scorn and abuse this results in from his father. He remarks to thenarrator that his "father will kill him" (10) and begs him "Please don'ttell" (18). His destruction of the egret will create a...

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