Sandpiper

A sandpiper is a bird native to American (both North and South) beaches. It feeds by running down the beach when the waves recede and picking out the filter-feeding shells and crabs that live there. It then flees from the waves to avoid getting its feathers wet, which would prevent it from flying to escape predators. This back-and-forth sprint up and down the beach is the subject of the poem. Bishop uses a third-person speaker and refers to the sandpiper using the pronoun “he.”

In the first stanza, the speaker establishes the relationship between the Atlantic Ocean and the sandpiper. The ocean is a vast force that the bird experiences through the senses of sound and touch. While the ocean roars and shakes the ground, the sandpiper takes its powerful presence “for granted” (Line 1). The Atlantic is familiar.

This familiarity is juxtaposed (placed alongside) with the bird’s frantic actions. He runs, and the speaker repeats the word “run” twice in Line 3 to emphasize the speedy action of the bird’s feet. In addition to several adjectives describing how he runs, the speaker includes an allusion, or reference, to William Blake. The bird is “a student of Blake” (Line 4). This allusion continues throughout the poem with the speaker and bird paying close attention to the sand of the beach (and the bird’s name). Blake’s famous first line in his poem “Auguries of Innocence” is “To see a World in a Grain of Sand.”

In the second stanza, the beach and ocean that were described in the first stanza are named. This movement from the sensory experience of water and land intersecting to the speaker including the words “beach” (Line 5) and “water” (Line 6) clarifies the scene. The speaker continues to include sensory details, like the hissing sound of the beach, but the focus narrows with the more specific diction (word choice).

The image of the bird develops. The sandpiper has “dark and brittle feet” (Line 7), which are important because they physically interact with the sand. The bird’s feet are also significant because, at first, the speaker thinks the bird is looking at his feet in the water while he runs. The second stanza is the only stanza in the poem to have two rhymes (ABAB rather than XAXA). The extra rhyme connects “goes” (Line 6) with “toes” (Line 8), emphasizing the speed of the bird’s feet.

In the third stanza, the speaker corrects her previous statement. While at first it appears that the bird looks at his feet, he actually looks at “the spaces of sand between them” (Line 9). This strengthens the connection to Blake, reflecting on the significance of even the smallest detail. Here, Bishop develops the theme of finding meaning in the mundane.

The continual motion of both the water and the bird is emphasized in the third stanza. Bishop names the ocean as the Atlantic in this stanza and focuses on a retreating wave. The water drags the grains of sand, illustrating the power of nature. The sandpiper continues to run while staring at the grains of sand. “Grains” (Line 12) being a rhyme word in this stanza further alludes to Blake’s line about a grain of sand.

In the fourth stanza, the speaker returns to the idea of the world that was presented in the first stanza. Bishop’s repetition of the word “world” (Line 13) also connects to Blake’s line of poetry, because Blake’s poem also contains the word “world.” Bishop moves between the world, described in terms of atmosphere, to the tiny details of the bird’s anatomy. While the powerful tide changes, the speaker looks at the sandpiper’s little “beak” (Line 16) pointing at the ground. The reader sees both the larger picture and the bird, but the bird is totally absorbed by the sand.

In the fifth stanza, the speaker develops the sandpiper’s obsession: He searches for something in the sand. The repetition of “something” three times in Line 17 emphasizes that the speaker does not know what the sandpiper seeks. The repetition also questions if the bird himself knows what he is “looking for” (Line 17). This apparently fruitless search inspires the speaker to express emotion—pity for the bird. Prior to this point, the speaker has focused on describing the moment rather than attaching any emotional judgment.

The last two lines of the poem describe the grains of sand. They are numerous and vary in color. Furthermore, there is diversity in the ground. Sand grains are mixed with grains of quartz, which is a gemstone used in jewelry. This places tiny pieces of a valuable stone, like “amethyst” (Line 20), alongside tiny pieces of rocks that are not considered as beautiful or valuable (not used in jewelry like amethyst). Looking among both, as the sandpiper does—who is a student of Blake—represents seeking meaning in the quotidian (the everyday) as well as the more valuable things.