18 pages • 36 minutes read
Sandpiper
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Symbols & Motifs
Sandpiper
The titular bird in Bishop’s poem can be read as several symbols—having multiple meanings like this is referred to as polysemic. In Line 4, the sandpiper is described as “a student of Blake,” which can support the reading of the bird as a poet who wants to emulate the visionary British Romantic poet William Blake. Bishop could fill the role of the poet who studies Blake, or she could be commenting on the approach of another poet. More generally, the bird could represent the poetic folly of focusing so strongly on Blake’s ideas (seeing the world in just one grain of sand) that he misses the rest of the world that surrounds him. Additionally, there is some archness to the poem’s tone in that the sandpiper is actually looking for food, and poets—like Blake and Bishop—assign human concerns to it.
Colors
The colors in the sand carry symbolic weight. The neutral colors—white, black, tan, and gray—mix to give the overall impression of sandy brown. Looking closely at individual grains, like the sandpiper, allows the observer to see how different colors combine to make a somewhat unified color from a distance. These neutral colors are contrasted with more striking colors, like rose and amethyst. Shards of quartz represent more precious stones, like ones that are sold in jewelry. Gemstones like amethyst are assigned many symbolic meanings, in terms of birthstones or magic. Bishop, in referencing Blake, hints at his use of color in the prints he made of his (and other) poems. He was very interested in mystical practices, and foundational to many occult texts are tables of magical symbols (what colors, numbers, etc. can represent on an altar or in a spell).
Prey of the Sandpiper
Throughout the poem, the sandpiper looks at the sand. This gaze is attributed to several different motivations. However, the actual object of the sandpiper’s search is absent. Sandpipers hunt the interstitial area between land and sea where the waves touch. This area is inhabited by various mollusks and crabs that eat the rich particulate matter brought in by the waves. These organisms rise out of the sand when the water is above them and sink back into the sand when it recedes. The sandpipers locate these animals by watching for bubbles in the sand, which are also a kind of absence. By omitting the specific object of the sandpiper’s quest (food), Bishop emphasizes the sandpiper’s search for an absence, the bubbles where there is neither sand nor water.
The search for food is also a quest for survival, which contrasts animals and humans. Humans search for meaning, both in poetry and natural scenes. Sandpipers, lacking human access to agriculture and society, cannot search for meaning and must look for food. This contrast emphasizes the paradoxes and personification devices of the poem.
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By Elizabeth Bishop
