Alyssa Gibson

AP Literature
Poetry Explication
6 March 2017

Explication of Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird

In his poem Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird, Wallace Stevens uses short
stanzas to explain just that, thirteen ways of looking at a blackbird. However, the complexity of
the poem is derived from the literary devices the author utilizes to convey his point. Throughout
the poem, this complexity is empathized through short, concise stanzas compiled into a list
enumerated by Roman numerals. Also, in regards to the structure, this poem is free-verse,
possesses an omniscient speaker, and tends to switch often from literal and rhetoric point of
view. While the main presented idea, the notion of blackbirds being in places, is rather simplistic,
the symbolism of the blackbird creates a deeper meaning overall. Blackbirds are used to
symbolize higher ideas, higher thought, higher intelligence, magic, mystery, secrets, the
unknown, pure potential, and obvious perception, and I believe that this poem uses the blackbird
in most of these ways throughout certain areas of the poem.
In the first stanza, Among twenty snowy mountains/The only moving thing/Was the eye
of the black bird, Stevens frequent use of enjambment becomes quickly evident. With this
specific stanza, the blackbird represents a sense of all knowingness. Stevens word choice, while
simple vocabulary, shows the metaphysical side of this stanza. In the second and third stanzas,
Stevens diction stays rather consistent with the first. However, what does change is the
symbolism of the blackbird. In the second stanza, the blackbird can be representative of what I
call The Big Three: higher ideals, higher thought, and higher intelligence. Each of these three
are in the tree that can represent the human body. The third stanzas blackbird symbolism can be
attributed to the magic of an act, as a pantomime is a dramatic show. The fourth stanza is quite
interesting. Because of its very few words total, the emphasis is actually placed on what is there.
The man and the woman being one I took as them marrying one another, and the blackbirds
interference could likely be secrets that either of them are hiding.
In the fifth stanza, Stevens signature complex vocabulary begins to shine through. His
style is that similar to my own: unnecessarily complicated, but has beautiful flow because of said
complicatedness. In this stanza, The blackbird whistling/Or just after could be symbolizing the
unknown, because of the silence that Or just after implies. In the sixth stanza, the blackbird
once again comes to symbolize the unknown, as the tone shifts to very harsh. The last line, An
indecipherable cause only further exemplifies such coldness. From then on, each instance of
one or more blackbirds appearing can be attributed to a specific reasoning. However, what is less
consistent in this poem is the form, because each stanza varies from two to seven lines and has
no discernable rhyme scheme. This lack of form shows specifically the list type nature of the
poem, and how such simplicity is as mentioned before, contrasted to the difficulty of the
comprehension of the poem.
 Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird has both its great moments and its faults.
Where this poem lacks, in my opinion, is the few number of literary devices used in this
professional level poem. Besides symbolism, caesuras, enjambment, and the literal imagery, this
poem does not have much else to it. Without a strong use of literary devices, this poem is very
hard to analyze as detailed as one with more to it could. However, this does not detract from the
charm that Ive come to know as Wallace Stevens style. Elegantly complex, Wallace Stevens
does not often leave his readers to their minds, until said reader decides to analyze the
symbolism of a poem about, in a basic sense, blackbirds in places. While the blackbird can have
many interpretations of its symbolism, this poem was not able to work in enough for the reader
to have any specific message to take and remember the poem with in the end.