The writer describes the sea and its waves as something of massive proportions that simply cannot be overlooked. The sea is ‘roaring’ with many waves hitting the beach “every so often”. These many adjectives help the reader to feel the power of the sea. In many cases the writer uses enjambment at the third line of the first stanza as the Sandpiper “runs to the south, finical, awkward in a state of controlled panic…” The writer uses an oxymoron when describing the bird’s state, which is of controlled panic. The speed of the stanza is very fast as the writer uses repetition as the bird is running. The enjambment helps the writer visualise the image of quick movement.
As the theme of the poem is to make the reader visualise and see the very small yet beautiful details in life, the writer helps us reach this feeling by using many literary devices which add to the poems meaning. On one side the poems literal meaning is simply a bird searching for something with a large ocean behind him. On the other hand, the figurative meaning is much deeper with a great extent of meaning. Throughout the poem, most of it is seen from the bird’s perspective and what it sees. The writer draws our attention to the very minute things in life which we take for granted, but the writer cleverly gives attention to very large things around the bird. This contrast adds an effect to the theme of the poem by showing the reader the huge difference in sizes. An oxymoron is also used when the writer describes the world as “minute” and “vast” to further raise the effect.
Lastly, it is the uncertainty we have of the sandpiper’s actions that strikes us most forcefully, and the sense of mystery created by the writer makes the reader want to know the answers. The bird is ‘looking for something, something, something’. The poem finishes with a great observation of the sand grains, to the point where the reader notices that lots of beauty can be found in the smallest things we take for granted. The ‘quartz grains, rose and amethyst’ represent the fine detail of the sand.
At the end of the poem, the reader understands what Bishop was trying to achieve with this powerful and meaningful poem, it draws our attention closer to the little details of existence, which the bird is solely occupied with; as the water “glazes over his dark and brittle feet”, “to the spaces” between his toes, and finally to the millions beautiful and detailed grains of sand at the end.
