The Tree and Linnets (Symbol)
The speaker's hopes for his daughter are embodied in the paired symbols of the laurel tree and the linnets. Very broadly, while the tree symbolizes his daughter's hoped-for external circumstances, the birds symbolize her hoped-for internal circumstances. The speaker wishes for his daughter to be healthy, nurturing, and "rooted" like the tree—possessed of a strong sense of place and sense of self. Meanwhile, the speaker hopes that she will be charitable and kind, with a playful attitude and a sense of humor, like the birds and their song. Perhaps above all, the speaker envisions a situation in which the linnets cannot be pulled away from the tree, regardless of circumstance. In other words, he wishes for his daughter to have a certain degree of integrity and happiness that preserves her internal life even when her life grows difficult or unpredictable.
The Storm (Symbol)
The poem opens in an ominous atmosphere. While the speaker watches his daughter sleep, a vicious storm is raging outside. The storm is a symbolic representation of the storminess, unpredictability, and danger of life. It is the storm's threat that in fact seems to prompt the speaker's prayer, launching him into a meditation on his daughter's future. The speaker advises his daughter to live a life characterized by safety, rather than one of extremes—he does not wish for her to be extraordinary, and instead hopes that she will simply be secure and happy. The storm represents the danger of the alternative. It is extreme, powerful, and even sublime, but these characteristics produce fear rather than awe for the poem's speaker. The extremes embodied by the storm, and by personal traits like beauty or opinionatedness, are not worth the potential pain and struggle they inevitably bring.
