Analysis of Bluebird
English A.
Bluebird is a poem written by the modern poet Charles Bukowski and published in 1992 in Bukowski’s collection of poems titled “The Last Night of the Earth Poems”.
The poem is about the vulnerability, innermost torment and the suppression of an emotional and fragile personality symbolized through the image of a Bluebird hidden inside the speakers mind.
The composition of the poem is very loose with only two stanzas and a lot of verse lines, some of which only consists of one word. The verse lines with only one word suggest that the reader also has to interpret the way the poem is read; not only the message and theme. Bluebird also has an unusual graphical look that confine, just like Bukowski’s
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He saw the inside of most American bars, was abused as a child and had a face that was scared by pocks. Against all odds Bukowski became a renowned, but provocative, poet. The stigma created by his history and habits, is a stigma that saw Bukowski as a whoring and numb figure, but in the symbolic value of a bluebird Bukowski tries to tell us that he has a caring personality hidden deep inside him.
Bukowski feared the reaction from the public if he let the inner bluebird out, but the inner bluebird also tormented Bukowski himself. It’s not only the society’s stigma that made Bukowski keep the bluebird in, but also the very self-destructive view Bukowski had on himself. A self-destructive view, backed up by his self-destructive drinking and treatment of his own body. “ there's a bluebird in my heart that/wants to get out/but I'm too tough for him,/ say, stay in there, I'm not going/to let anybody see you.” He tries to suppress the bluebird’s existence through means of denying it, using escapist techniques such as drinking, smoking and participation in prostitution to deter his mind from the presence. “there’s a bluebird in my heart that/wants to get out/but I pour whiskey on him and inhale/cigarette smoke/and the whores and the bartenders/and the grocery clerks/never know that/he’s/in there”
Only in moments of total solitude, in his bed, he lets his little bluebird out of
The intriguing thing about this poem is it’s use of the imagery of a bird, the first line is the audience being addressed as “little bird” something that could easily be a childhood nickname, “Fly away little bird / Fly away to a better place / Where you will soar through the sky / In the wide open space” This is a simple verse of the author imploring the ‘little bird’ to fly freely, nothing different until paired with the second verse “Fly away to live out all your hopes and dreams / Enter the real world / Of wondrous things / Through the dark clouds and over the rainbows” Using the mirroring words of ‘hopes and dreams’ and ‘dark clouds and over the rainbows’ creates the thoughts of highs and loves and everything in between, a common happening in the ‘real world’, which is usually used in regards of a child growing up and becoming up and creating a life for themselves. This is defined even more in the next three lines; “Fly away to destinations unknown / Fly away to discover yourself / And embrace what you find” these lines emphasise the thought of growing up and moving on in life, but the use of ‘embrace’ encourages the ‘little bird’ to not be afraid of change or transforming themselves, instead to welcome the difference and
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 both physically and emotionally. Blackbird’s lyrics and melody gives you a taste of that struggle and pain those individuals went through in their lives. The song is expressing about having perseverance and faith in the midst of trials that come your way.
The first quote I chose came from chapter 15. This quote shows that it harmed his chances of survival at first. Then when he realized what he did it helps him tremendously. As it says in the book (chapter 15) “ And that had been the secret. He Had been looking for the color of the bird.” This hurt him in his chance his survival because he had been
Nevertheless, in the poem ‘Nesting time’, Stewart interprets a personal experience in first person of the appearance of a bird that lands upon his daughter and forgets the thought of the harsh world. Stewart’s descriptive language repeatedly explains the poem as if seen in his viewpoint, beginning with an interjection, ‘oh’ communicating of his incredulity of an ‘absurd’ bird. Symbolizing the bird with strong coloured imagery its ‘mossy green, sunlit’, described to be bright and joyful, with sweetness shown with the type of bird, ‘honey-eater’, Douglas Stewart takes the time to describe its admiration juxtaposed to the dangerous world surrounding it. While visualizing the birds actions, ‘pick-pick-pick’ of alliteration and repetition of its
Across the compound, the Bird had stopped laughing” (p. 302).He was holding that stick for 37 minutes simply “filling” his body with the energy of his own words and thoughts that convinced him about how strong his is. More than once Louie had shown his firm power, confidence and purposefulness which helped him survive and stay cold-blooded. Only strong will to live lead him to his light -to
The title of the poem, “Sympathy”, represents the feeling that the speaker has toward a bird enclosed in a cage. The speaker relates to the bird by repeating the words “I know” and following them with an action of the bird, revealing that he has also
What I Think: After yet more humiliation and abuse from the Bird, Louie loses all but a single thought: “He cannot break me.” I think it is incredible how, after so much exhaustion and agony Louie only thinks about how he will not succumb to it all.
James Baldwin’s Sonny’s Blues is a short story that, for some people, could be considered a challenging read. Not because of the level of difficulty, but for the fact that it shares a lot of human angst. However, Baldwin’s story still manages to be entertaining, as well as holding many life lessons in it. Baldwin’s story teaches lessons such as; dealing with suffering, being supportive, and accepting differences. James Baldwin’s Sonny’s Blues does a noble job of relating to the readers on various levels, while also teaching important lessons everyone should adhere by.
Above all, his theme was curiosity about the recesses of other men’s and women’s beings. About this theme he was always ambivalent [my italics], for he knew that his success as a writer depended upon his keen psychological analysis of people he met, while he could never forget that invasion of the sanctity of another’s personality may harden the heart even as it enriches the mind (548).
At the bird’s appearance and apparent vocal articulation, he is at first impressed, then saddened. He compares this evening visitor as only another friend which will soon depart, just as “other friends have flown before” (58). But the raven again echoes quite aptly his one-word vocabulary, thus leading the man on to think more deeply about the possibilities that exist at this juncture. Somewhere deep inside him, he has realized that it doesn’t matter what question he poses, the bird will respond the same.
The style and content of Bukowski's work was heavily influenced by the environment that surrounded him. He took classes at Los Angles City College where he missed classes. He held a job at the postal service that he absolutely despised, he did as little as possible . He went on a journey roaming the States because he wanted experience to make his writings more in depth. He looked at sex as something you do when you can't sleep. To him love was
These philosophical writers likely encouraged the development Bukowski’s negative opinion on capitalist society. It is also in this period when Bukowski began to write poetry, gaining moderate attention through various publishing firms. Bukowski’s underground popularity increased overtime until he became mainstream name, ironically idolized by the people he mocked. Women have also been entangled in Bukowski’s messy life, experiencing both marriages and divorces (Frost, 2002). In addition Bukowski also experienced numerous short-term relationships, often with groupies or prostitutes. In comparison to Bukowski’s life, his persona as a writer zigzags between anti-American and patriotic characteristics; however the description of being a critic of society is more accurate than a irrelevant label.
The children are unnoticed by others and the mother is the only one that is protecting them. This poem shows the hard times that the mother must face because her children have died. However the mother is coping with them while still protecting her children after they have died, This is the mother's way of coping because she is not yet ready to let go of her children and still wants to care for them. This poem shows this through nature by portraying the mother as a bird who is protecting her nest. Also the poem uses nature by describing the harsh times as a winter wind that has caused harm to the mother and her children.
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.
This stanza portrays a feeling of being enclosed in a room. The icicles that fill the window remind us of bars on a jail window, which portrays a closed-in feeling. How does this affect how we see the blackbird? Through the window we cannot see the blackbird itself, possibly referring to the beauty of inflections in stanza five. We can, though, see the blackbirds shadow, possibly the beauty of innuendoes? This closed-in feeling depicts how, many times, we limit ourselves to our own preferences and opinions. As you can see, Stevens uses his imagery to present symbolic elements in his work. In the song "Blackbird," Lennon and