Analysis of Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird, by...

Wallace Stevens is not an easy poet to understand. His work is purposely twisted and tangled so one is forced to thing-whether they want to or not. Stevens’ poetry ranges from real life situations to situations which are simply a depiction of his imagination. One thing can be concluded though, Stevens does not allow his work to have a single meaning. Why should he? This is the upmost quality that makes his stand out from his competitors in the poetic industry. An interesting theme though which Wallace truly enjoys writing about, in all seriousness, is something thought provoking- perception. The book definition of perception is â€Å"appending [something] by the means of senses or the mind† . In his poem, â€Å"Thirteen Ways of Looking†¦show more content†¦This is where one can see the new role the blackbird is playing. A new perception of the bird. It is now part of one’s conscious. It does not have an on or off button that any human can control just l ike a â€Å"river†¦moving† (Stevens 48). A new theme is suggested in this part which makes its way up to the top a couple more times in the work. It is choices. It this specific case it is clear that the individuals the speaker is referring to do not have a choice but to acknowledge the bird. In the fifth part on the other hand, once again a new idea is presented and this is not the case. Here the bird becomes an objectified â€Å"beauty† but this doesn’t last long because as the sixth part approaches, the readers once again return to the winter time â€Å"filled† with â€Å"icicles† (Stevens 17-19). A circular pattern can now be seen with the seasons. Another hint of a continuous process occurring- the process of perception. In the seventh stanza the speaker calls up the â€Å"thin men of Haddam† (a city in Connecticut) and asks about the â€Å"golden birds† (Stevens 25-26). He goes on to say that the â€Å"Blackbird walks around the feet of the women about [them]† (Stevens 28-29). What could he possibly mean? Loazi, a philosophical author, wrote in his book that one should â€Å"Know the masculine, keep to the feminine.† With that being said, when the lines from the poem are re-evaluated, it can be seen that theShow MoreRelatedAnalysis of Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird by Wallace Stevens995 Words   |  4 PagesThe title of Wallace Stevens poem, Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird, is misleading, because he does not only offer thirteen ways of looking at blackbird, but the poem offers us many insights on how humans think. Blackbird, written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, has many similarities with Thirteen Ways of Looking at A Blackbird other than just thei r titles. They use many poetic conventions to explain their poem s ideas, both writers use a blackbird to compare to humans and humanRead MoreThirteen Ways of Self-Questioning1358 Words   |  6 PagesThirteen Ways of Self-Questioning The poem â€Å"Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird† is written by Wallace Stevens. It contains thirteen sections; each section provides us a picture that is centered by the element of blackbird. Blackbird in the poem signifies people’s consciousness. So this poem wants to tell us that every person has a perspective to look at the world. It questions our process of thought to understand the world, and reminds us realize the problem of it. In â€Å"The Language of Paradox†