The Bird Must Sing to Earn the Crumb
poem 880
The Bird Must Sing to Earn the Crumb - meaning Summary
Commerce of Song and Bloom
Dickinson’s short poem contrasts survival-driven labor with aesthetic worth. A bird must sing to earn its crumb, so music is rendered instrumental and conditional. A rose may bloom contentedly for a lady’s drawer, but if the lady appears only once a century the flower’s renown becomes useless. The poem questions whether merit depends on audience or utility, and whether beauty or song require external validation to matter.
Read Complete AnalysesThe Bird must sing to earn the Crumb What merit have the Tune No Breakfast if it guaranty The Rose content may bloom To gain renown of Lady’s Drawer But if the Lady come But once a Century, the Rose Superfluous become
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