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1.) Who is the speaker of the poem? The speaker to me appears to be a ornithophile. A ornithophile is a person that loves and admires birds. Or a bird watcher.
2.) What is the tone of the poem? The speakers tone to me seems very confusing as if the speaker is unaware of their surroundings or there thought process is all over the place. For example in line 12 the speaker states “The river is moving the blackbird must be flying.” This suggest the weather is changing. The ice is melting and it’s getting warmer. But then in line 13 the speakers states “It was evening all afternoon. It was snowing And it was going to snow.
3.) What is the mood of the poem? “Icicles filled the long window with barbaric glass. The shadow of the blackbird Crossed it, to and for. The mood traced in the shadow an indecipherable cause.” The mood of this poem to me seems very cold because of the the icicles. The color of the bird to me could mean the speakers mood is not so happy or is in a dark place mentally or could be indecisive about his life. Blackbirds also represents a bad omen.
4.) What is being compared in the extended metaphor? Sometimes one element that is being compared is not present – speculate!
Some metaphors being compared in this poem is “Icicles filled the long window with barbaric glass.” Barbaric means savagely cruel; exceedingly brutal. So it is brutally cold, the icicles are being compared to glass.
“The blackbird whirled in the autumn winds. It was a small part of the pantomime”
Pantomime is a dramatic entertainment, in which performers express meaning through gestures accompanied by music. So the speaker acknowledges the blackbird for playing a major role in the nature.
5.) Give specific examples of images that create the extended metaphor in the poem. Lines in this poem that created extended metaphor are
“Among twenty snowy mountains the only moving thing was the eye of the blackbird.” From the speakers perspective the only thing moving in the environment is the blackbird everything else is still.
“I was of three minds, Like a tree In which there are three blackbirds.” When I read this line I pictured three blackbirds seating in a tree viewing nature or anticipating their next move.
6.) What do you think the theme is? “A man and a woman are one. A man and a women and a blackbird are one.”
I believe the theme of this poem is to show how the human species and the animal species co-exit together in nature.
7.) What is the extended metaphor? Give three specific examples from the poem that are components or extensions of this metaphor.
“Among twenty snowy mountains the only moving thing was the eye of the blackbird.”
“He rode over Connecticut in a glass coach.”
“It was evening all afternoon. It was snowing And it was going to snow. The blackbird sat in the cedar-limbs. During the winter months it get dark outside at 5:00pm. During the warmer months it doesn’t get dark until 8:00pm to 9pm. When the speakers states it was evening all afternoon you are aware it is winter time and the fact that it was snowing and it’s going to snow again.
8.) Explain how the extended metaphor supports the theme (s). The extended metaphor supports that nature seem to be the ongoing theme of this poem. Even a simple animal like a blackbird is just as much a significant role in nature as humans are. I believe the speaker is trying to bring awareness to how we all play a major part in the circle of life. Everything is here for a reason, if you get rid of one element we will lose balance or the divine order.
