Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird Summary & Analysis

About the Poem “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird”

Poem Title	Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird
Author	Wallace Stevens
Publication Year	1917 (first published in “Others: An Anthology of the New Verse”)
Form	Poem
Structure	13 stanzas, each with a distinct perspective on blackbirds
Themes	Nature, perception, subjectivity, identity
Style	Modernist poetry, Imagism, uses concise and vivid imagery
Central Imagery	The blackbird, which serves as a symbol and focal point
Poetic Techniques	Use of vivid and concise imagery, metaphor, and allusion

Themes of Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird

The themes of Wallace Stevens’ poem “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird“ are:

1. Perception ➤ The poem explores how different people see the same thing in various ways.
2. Identity ➤ It touches on the idea that our identity is shaped by how we see and understand the world.
3. Subjectivity ➤ The poem highlights how our personal viewpoints and feelings influence our understanding of reality.
4. Nature ➤ It uses the blackbird as a symbol of nature and the mysteries of life.
5. Imagination ➤ The poem suggests that our imagination and interpretation play a big role in our understanding of the world.

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird Summary & Analysis

Stanza 1

Among twenty snowy mountains,   

The only moving thing   

Was the eye of the blackbird. 

In the first stanza, the speaker describes a scene in which the only moving thing is a blackbird’s eye. This image suggests that the blackbird is something special, set apart from the rest of the world.

Stanza 2

I was of three minds,   

Like a tree   

In which there are three blackbirds.   

In the second stanza, the speaker says that there are three blackbirds. This could be a literal statement, or it could be a metaphor for the different ways in which we can see the same thing.

Stanza 3

The blackbird whirled in the autumn winds.   

It was a small part of the pantomime.

In the third stanza, the speaker describes the blackbird whirling in the autumn winds. This image suggests that the blackbird is free and wild, and that it is connected to the natural world.

Stanza 4

A man and a woman   

Are one.   

A man and a woman and a blackbird   

Are one.

In the fourth stanza, the speaker says that they and the blackbird are one. This could be a statement of empathy, or it could be a suggestion that the blackbird is a part of the speaker’s own being.

Stanza 5

I do not know which to prefer,   

The beauty of inflections   

Or the beauty of innuendoes,   

The blackbird whistling   

Or just after.   

In the fifth stanza, the speaker repeats the statement that they and the blackbird are one. This repetition emphasizes the importance of this idea.

Stanza 6

Icicles filled the long window   

With barbaric glass.   

The shadow of the blackbird   

Crossed it, to and fro.   

The mood   

Traced in the shadow   

An indecipherable cause. 

In the sixth stanza, the speaker describes seeing the blackbird just after seeing a man with white shoulders. This juxtaposition could be a way of suggesting that the blackbird is something dark and mysterious.

Stanza 7

O thin men of Haddam,   

Why do you imagine golden birds?   

Do you not see how the blackbird   

Walks around the feet   

Of the women about you?   

In the seventh stanza, the speaker describes the blackbird with barbaric glass. This image could be a way of suggesting that the blackbird is something dangerous or threatening.

Stanza 8

I know noble accents   

And lucid, inescapable rhythms;   

But I know, too,   

That the blackbird is involved   

In what I know.   

In the eighth stanza, the speaker describes the blackbird crossing a road back and forth. This image suggests that the blackbird is moving between different worlds, or between different ways of seeing the world.

Stanza 9

When the blackbird flew out of sight,   

It marked the edge   

Of one of many circles. 

In the ninth stanza, the speaker asks the thin men of Haddam why they imagine golden birds and not blackbirds. This question could be a way of suggesting that the blackbird is something that is often overlooked or undervalued.

Stanza 10

At the sight of blackbirds   

Flying in a green light,   

Even the bawds of euphony   

Would cry out sharply.   

In the tenth stanza, the speaker says that the blackbird is a part of the women about them. This could be a way of suggesting that the blackbird is connected to the feminine, or to the creative and intuitive side of human nature.

Stanza 11

He rode over Connecticut   

In a glass coach.   

Once, a fear pierced him,   

In that he mistook   

The shadow of his equipage   

For blackbirds.   

In the eleventh stanza, the speaker says that the blackbird is in what they know. This could be a way of suggesting that the blackbird is a part of the speaker’s own understanding of the world.

Stanza 12

The river is moving.   

The blackbird must be flying. 

In the twelfth stanza, the speaker says that the blackbird is of one of many circles. This could be a way of suggesting that the blackbird is just one part of a larger, interconnected whole.

Stanza 13

It was evening all afternoon.   

It was snowing   

And it was going to snow.   

The blackbird sat   

In the cedar-limbs.

In the thirteenth and final stanza, the speaker says that the blackbird would cry out sharply if it were in a glass coach. This image could be a way of suggesting that the blackbird is something that is wild and untamed, and that it would not be comfortable in a confined or artificial environment.

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