Analysis of 'Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird' by Wallace Stevens

The song, “Blackbird,” was written by the iconic British boy band The Beatles in 1968. During this time period, the civil rights movement was on the rise and people had very conflicted views about racism and how they should cope with it. Innocent lives were lost and people were struggling

Do you ever think of yourself or others as innocent and beautiful birds? In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, three birds are mentioned. Bluejays, Mockingbirds, and Finches. Each bird has a different tune, personality, and are completely different in the best ways. It would be a complete sin to kill an innocent mockingbird for your personal gain. Three characters from this novel that came to mind as I was thinking of the unique personalities in a Mockingbird are Begin Match to source 6 in source list: http://jondesoza.blog.petitmallblog.jp/blog-date-201109.htmlAtticus Finch, Jean Louise ‘Scout’ Finch, and Boo Radley.End Match Given these points, Atticus we all know Begin Match to source 4 in source list: Submitted to Plainfield South

Triginhall Mrs. Teacher Honors English 10 18 November 2012 Response to Literature “The free bird thinks of another breeze….a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams…” The two literary works “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou and Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” can be seen as mockingbirds that have flown over fields of prejudice and repeat what they have seen for all to hear. Jem Finch, a young boy and lawyer’s son from “To Kill a Mockingbird” clearly symbolizes a mockingbird because of his youth and innocence, and because of his innocence he cannot fully understand the racism in the story. Jem also has many similarities to the caged and free birds in “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, whether it be Jem’s

Research:Blackbird by the Beatles Blackbird is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney recorded in 1968. McCartney wrote this song about the civil rights struggle for blacks after reading about race riots in the USA. He penned it in his kitchen in Scotland not long after an incident in

Assonance is a literary device that emphasizes the repetition of vowel sounds without repeating any consonants; in other words, the pairing of similar sounding vowels. The effects of using assonance can bring about a simpler and more elegant cadence to works of literature. An example of this is evident in the fifth line of “Subway Wind” when McKay writes, “And pale-cheeked children seek the upper door”. The emphasis of the vowel sounds in ‘pale-cheeked’ and ‘seek’ helps to bring about structure to the line. The similar sounding vowels are utilized in such a way that the line provides a flow to make the reader pronounce each word in a particular way. In my experience reading this aloud, I had to slow down to get the full effect of assonance in the passage. Another example of McKay utilizing assonance in his work is in the 10th line, “Through sleepy waters, while gulls wheel and sweep”. The accentuation on the vowel sounds of ‘sleepy’, ‘wheel’, and ‘sweep’ bring about a smooth tempo to the poem. Although the words used in this line do not sound

     To      In the second stanza, Dunbar refers to the emotional and physical abuse that imprisonment and oppression puts on both the caged bird and the African Americans. Dunbar begins the second stanza with,

“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” depicts two birds which are used as metaphors to express the state in which the two classes of people live. In one description the poem describes the standard of living of a bird of privilege which alludes to the lives of whites. Then it describes caged birds whom of which are crying out for freedom, and are meant to represent African Americans during this time. It describes the feeling of being trapped and calling out for

‘He hurried off to town and bought a shining new machine’ The imagery used in this verse appeals to the sense sight. This helps the reader visualise what the writer is taking about. It also allows the reader to relate and connect more to the poem.

The first element our writers used to express their message of wanting to be free is form. The narrator for ‘The Caged Bird” feels alone and wishes to be able to snatch the chains that keep her tied down. Also, in the poem “Sympathy” by Dunbar as well an in “The Caged Bird” both authors used a bird to symbolize the captivity and aspiration for freedom. Both poets wrote their piece in lyric form because of obvious reasons. A lyric poem is defined as a poem that expresses personal and emotional feelings. Writing poems with this form shows the amount of deep emotion that the narrator feels toward this work. In addition, both authors wrote their poems in iambic pentameter to make the poem sound like a natural flow of speech to really show the deep feelings the poets are feeling.

During the hard times as the Jim Crow laws were revealed there has been numerous discussion about these cruel rules, and as the laws approve segregation, people have found that the Jim Crow laws have more of an impact in their lives than just enforcement of segregation. In the poem, “Sympathy”

The mood of “Caged Bird” changes drastically from stanza to stanza. Angelou’s specific diction choices help to reflect the change from being positive to negative with some elements of hope involved. The parts of the poem involving the free bird provide the reader with a feeling of self government.In contrast, the mood associated with the caged bird is confinment. Despite the negative mood tied to the caged bird there are still elements of hope woven into these stanzas.

Paul Dunbar, an African American poet who was famous during the Harlem Renaissance, wrote a poem titled, “Sympathy” in 1899. The poem expressed his relations to a caged bird and how he understands how the caged bird feels. Dunbar’s use of imagery and repetition helps to clearly depict the struggle

around, over, or through there's The second stanza of the poem explores the concept of communication, as many methods are stated. For example, “birds to carry messages/taped to their feet/there are letters to be written.” (25-27). This gives the reader the images of trying to desperately communicate with someone. Birds are seen as a sign of freedom and this gives a sense of being able to communicate freely.

In this poem, Stevens applies paradox through both audible and visible experiences. Brooks suggests: “But I am not here interested in enumerating the possible variations; I am interested rather in our seeing that the paradoxes spring from the very nature of the poet's language: it is a language in which the connotations play as great a part as the denotations” (Brooks 61). From a broader vision, we may find the mastery of paradox language by Stevens via analysis of his work. In section five, he narrates: “I do not know which to prefer, / The beauty of inflections / Or the beauty of innuendoes, / The blackbird whistling / Or just after” (V). When the blackbird is whistling, there is a beauty of

“The blackbird calls in grief” is an anonymously written poem from the twelfth century. The narrator laments the death of loved ones. In the poem, the narrator begins by lamenting to a blackbird. He mourns the passing of both the birds and his own family. The bird is personified and the two share in their grief. “The harm now happened to him/ not long since happened to me” (Kinsella 85). An analogy is created equating the loss of the two families and the injustice of the loss. The bird is removed from the poem after the sixth stanza, the grief is only the narrators to bare. The seventh stanza questions God, “O You who made the world, / Your bias is hard to bear:/ friends all around me are spared, / their woman and young survive” (Kinsella 86). This poem is distinctive compared even to more modern poems. This is perhaps why the author chose to remain