Tipping his hat
In the second line of the poem, the bird catcher tips off his hat when he sees the squire walking together with his daughter. The tipping of the hat is used by the bird-catches to show his respect towards his master while also being used as a symbol to suggest the social differences between the squire and the bird-catcher.
Flying
The narrator suggests that the bird-catcher could let the lark free and let if fly away after the encounter between the catcher and the squire’s daughter. The act of flying is used in this context as a symbol, the narrator suggesting the idea that the bird-catcher should free his own emotions by confessing them to the woman he loves.
The cage
The lark caught by the bird-catcher is held locked in a cage when the squire and his daughter walk past them. The lark is powerless to do anything else except remain a prisoner. The cage is used in this poem as a symbol, representing both the bird’s inability to escape and the bird-catcher’s inability to be with the woman he loves because he is constrained by the society in which he lives in.
Lack of choice
One of the common motifs in the poem is the idea that there are some people in society who do not have the same freedom others have. The author uses the lark and the bird-catcher to transmit the idea and through them he describes two forms of social confinement a person can experience.
The horse
The third line of the poem describes the squire as riding past the bird-catcher on his beautiful horse. The bird-catcher looks up at the squire while taking off his hat in a sign of respect and is silent while his master passes him by. The horse is used here as a symbol, representing the squire’s high social status and his superiority when compared to others around him.
