--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A man is not a bird, to come and go with…" description: "\"A man is not a bird, to come and go with the springtime.\" — Arthur Miller" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe7/arthur-miller-947_bird_a-man-is-not-a-bird-to-come-and-go-with_2245340.png" --- # A man is not a bird, to come and go with the springtime. ![“A man is not a bird, to come and go with the springtime.” quote by Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe7/arthur-miller-947_bird_a-man-is-not-a-bird-to-come-and-go-with_2245340.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe7/arthur-miller-947_bird_a-man-is-not-a-bird-to-come-and-go-with_2245340.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe7/arthur-miller-947_bird_a-man-is-not-a-bird-to-come-and-go-with_2245340.png) > “A man is not a bird, to come and go with the springtime.” [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A man cannot be as free as a bird; human life is bound by responsibilities and seasons. **In simple terms:** Human freedom is limited. Key Takeaway Accept constraints and act responsibly. Themes freedom responsibility human nature Mood thoughtful philosophical Type literary reflective When to use this quote - career decisions - family obligations - seasonal changes - personal growth Key Concepts existentialism metaphor Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities define your freedom? - How do seasons affect your choices? A Different Perspective Bird metaphor may oversimplify complex human agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Bird Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird-come-703958/) [Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/come/) [Come Springtime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/come-springtime-5084841/) [Comes and goes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comes-and-goes/) [Man Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-bird-1643628/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Spring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spring/) [Springtime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/springtime/) ## Related quotes > [This is not the land of my birth, but it is the land for which I hold the greatest affection, and I certainly will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/this-is-not-the-land-of-my-birth-but-it-is-the-land-for-which-i-hold/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [“If I keep a green bough in my heart, the singing bird will come.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-stoddart/if-i-keep-a-green-bough-in-my-heart-the-singing-bird-will-come/) [Laura Stoddart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-stoddart/) > [Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps the singing bird will come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/keep-a-green-tree-in-your-heart-and-perhaps-the-singing-bird-will-come/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a singing bird will come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinese-proverb/keep-a-green-tree-in-your-heart-and-perhaps-a-singing-bird-will-come/) [Chinese Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinese-proverb/) > [Man is a bird without wings and a bird is a man without sorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-de-bernieres/man-is-a-bird-without-wings-and-a-bird-is-a-man-without-sorrow/) [Louis de Bernieres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-de-bernieres/) > [Man is a bird full of mud, I say aloud. And death looks on with a casual eye and scratches his anus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/man-is-a-bird-full-of-mud-i-say-aloud-and-death-looks-on-with-a/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Take a good rest, small bird," he said. "Then go in and take your chance like any man or bird or fish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/take-a-good-rest-small-bird-he-said-then-go-in-and-take-your-chance/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“He prayeth well, who loveth well Both man and bird and beast.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/he-prayeth-well-who-loveth-well-both-man-and-bird-and-beast/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [I never wanted to weigh more heavily on a man than a bird.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coco-chanel/i-never-wanted-to-weigh-more-heavily-on-a-man-than-a-bird/) [Coco Chanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coco-chanel/) > [Look, I guess it's natural, you're teenagers, its springtime,everyone's thoughts are turning to birds and bees and caterpillars and moths… - Iggy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/look-i-guess-it-s-natural-you-re-teenagers-its-springtime-everyone-s/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [The air is like a butterfly With frail blue wings. The happy earth looks at the sky And sings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-kilmer/the-air-is-like-a-butterfly-with-frail-blue-wings-the-happy-earth/) [Joyce Kilmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-kilmer/) > [Marriages are always moving from one season to another. Sometimes we find ourselves in winter--discouraged, detached, and dissatisfied; other times we experience springtime, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-chapman/marriages-are-always-moving-from-one-season-to-another-sometimes-we/) [Gary Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-chapman/) > [Buttercups and daisies, Oh, the pretty flowers; Coming ere the spring time, To tell of sunny hours. When the trees are leafless; When the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-howitt/buttercups-and-daisies-oh-the-pretty-flowers-coming-ere-the-spring/) [Mary Howitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-howitt/) > [Love is a springtime plant that perfumes everything with its hope, even the ruins to which it clings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/love-is-a-springtime-plant-that-perfumes-everything-with-its-hope/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“They basked in the sweet-scented breeze, and felt the sunshine warming their bare heads. Petals drifted from the gnarled apple and cherry trees, creating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-wiggs/they-basked-in-the-sweet-scented-breeze-and-felt-the-sunshine-warming/) [Susan Wiggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-wiggs/) ## More by Arthur Miller > [If a person measures his spiritual fulfillment in terms of cosmic visions, surpassing peace of mind, or ecstasy, then he is not likely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/if-a-person-measures-his-spiritual-fulfillment-in-terms-of-cosmic/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [“If you can fall in love again and again, if you can forgive your parents for the crime of bringing you into the world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/if-you-can-fall-in-love-again-and-again-if-you-can-forgive-your/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [The wedding of Christianity or Judaism with nationalism is lethal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/the-wedding-of-christianity-or-judaism-with-nationalism-is-lethal/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [“I know what's wrong with me - I could never stand still for death! Which you've got to do by a certain age, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/i-know-what-s-wrong-with-me-i-could-never-stand-still-for-death-which/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [You cannot catch a child's spirit by running after it; you must stand still and for love it will soon itself return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/you-cannot-catch-a-child-s-spirit-by-running-after-it-you-must-stand/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [ “(Looking at the letter in his hand) Then what is this if it isn’t telling me? Sure, \[Larry\] was my son. But I think… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/looking-at-the-letter-in-his-hand-then-what-is-this-if-it-isn-t/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [The two greatest plays ever written were Hamlet and Oedipus Rex, and they're both about father-son relationships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/the-two-greatest-plays-ever-written-were-hamlet-and-oedipus-rex-and/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [A character is defined by the kinds of challenges he cannot walk away from. And by those he has walked away from that cause…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/a-character-is-defined-by-the-kinds-of-challenges-he-cannot-walk-away/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [Everybody likes a kidder, but nobody lends him money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/everybody-likes-a-kidder-but-nobody-lends-him-money/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [The American Dream is the largely unacknowledged screen in front of which all American writing plays itself out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/the-american-dream-is-the-largely-unacknowledged-screen-in-front-of/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [“When it is recalled that until the Christian era the underworld was never regardded as a hostile area, that all gods were useful and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/when-it-is-recalled-that-until-the-christian-era-the-underworld-was/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [“Elizabeth, with great fear: I will fear nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/elizabeth-with-great-fear-i-will-fear-nothing/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [I know you're no worse than most men but I thought you were better. I never saw you as a man. I saw you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/i-know-you-re-no-worse-than-most-men-but-i-thought-you-were-better-i/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [The best of our theater is standing on tiptoe, striving to see over the shoulders of father and mother. The worst is exploiting and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/the-best-of-our-theater-is-standing-on-tiptoe-striving-to-see-over/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [“I only ask you one thing- don't trust nobody”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/i-only-ask-you-one-thing-don-t-trust-nobody/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) [Explore all 322 Arthur Miller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) ## More Bird quotes > [And I have been very blessed, having coached some of the greatest that have ever played the game. But if I had to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-auerbach/and-i-have-been-very-blessed-having-coached-some-of-the-greatest-that/) [Red Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-auerbach/) > [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Set the bird's wings with gold and it will never again soar in thesky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/set-the-bird-s-wings-with-gold-and-it-will-never-again-soar-in-thesky/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“He unfixes the metal notch and slips his hand around the body of the bird. Feels its heat, its small heart beating. He stares…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-schuyler/he-unfixes-the-metal-notch-and-slips-his-hand-around-the-body-of-the/) [Nina Schuyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-schuyler/) > [I would rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach 10,000 stars how not to dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/i-would-rather-learn-from-one-bird-how-to-sing-than-to-teach-10-000/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [And wheresoever, in his rich creation, Sweet music breathes--in wave, or bird, or soul-- 'Tis but the faint and far reverberation Of that great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-sargent-osgood/and-wheresoever-in-his-rich-creation-sweet-music-breathes-in-wave-or/) [Frances Sargent Osgood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-sargent-osgood/) > [A clock struck out the hour of twelve, and the bird in the hedgerow was still singing as we marched out to the roadway,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macgill/a-clock-struck-out-the-hour-of-twelve-and-the-bird-in-the-hedgerow/) [Patrick MacGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macgill/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [When they started to drain a swamp where birds and fish had lived, for a new housing development down the road from his apartment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maile-meloy/when-they-started-to-drain-a-swamp-where-birds-and-fish-had-lived-for/) [Maile Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maile-meloy/) > [The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/the-bird-with-the-thorn-in-its-breast-it-follows-an-immutable-law-it/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [Real like sucks the life out of losers. if you want to fuck with the eagles, you must learn how to fly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/real-like-sucks-the-life-out-of-losers-if-you-want-to-fuck-with-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If we studied birds ,maybe we could learn to be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/if-we-studied-birds-maybe-we-could-learn-to-be-free/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) [Browse all 4,802 Bird quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A man is not a bird, to come and go with the springtime.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Arthur Miller" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/a-man-is-not-a-bird-to-come-and-go-with-the-springtime/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bird" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/a-man-is-not-a-bird-to-come-and-go-with-the-springtime/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe7/arthur-miller-947_bird_a-man-is-not-a-bird-to-come-and-go-with_2245340.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe7/arthur-miller-947_bird_a-man-is-not-a-bird-to-come-and-go-with_2245340.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe7/arthur-miller-947_bird_a-man-is-not-a-bird-to-come-and-go-with_2245340.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A man is not a bird, to come and go with the springtime.” — Arthur Miller", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Arthur Miller", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A man is not a bird,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/a-man-is-not-a-bird-to-come-and-go-with-the-springtime/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/a-man-is-not-a-bird-to-come-and-go-with-the-springtime/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```