Thirteen Ways of Self-Questioning

Thirteen Ways of Self-Questioning The numbers Thirteen Ways of Looking at a ousel is written by W solelyace Stevens. It contains thirteen branchs each realmitioning provides us a exposure that is centered by the element of blackbird. Blackbird in the poem signifies concourses instinct. So this poem wants to g overn us that either person has a perspective to look at the world. It questions our process of cerebration to understand the world, and reminds us realize the problem of it. In The Langu time of Paradox by Cleanth bear, he introduces the nonion of problem and its drill in poetry.In Stevens poem we can also find how he uses the thingumajig of conundrum to raise the question for publicy magazines, and also the use of puzzle leads us to reconsider our thought. Stevens displays several common understanding in homophile being. According to Brooks viewpoint, Our prejudices force us to regard paradox as in ramifyectual rather than emotional, clever rather than p rofound, rational rather than divinely irrational (Brooks 58). The first part is an introduction of the whole poem Among twenty snowy mountains, / The precisely moving thing / Was the bosom of the blackbird (I).This is to tell us the nature is huge, only if with it the only existence that is conscious near it is tender-hearted consciousness. Twenty snowy mountains stand for the broad natural environment, alone they be motionlessness and canvasm lifeless. Then he transferred the focus to the eye of the blackbird which is the only moving thing. Stevens uses the instead of a when he refers to blackbird because he wants to make it very clear that he refers it particular to humans consciousness.In section twelve, he says The river is moving. / The blackbird must be fleeting (XII). This section responds to section one, because he uses the modifiers moving and flying in devil sections respectively to express the same notion that our consciousness is changing over time. Cleanth Brooks describes paradox this way Paradox is the language of sophistry, hard bright, witty (Brooks 58). In Stevens poem, in order to make readers realize the problem in the process of our thought.He narrates It was evening all laternoon. / It was snowing / And it was going to snow / The blackbird sit / In the cedar-limbs (XIII). Afternoon is before evening, but he says it was evening all afternoon. This should signify a passive attitude to life. Evening is the time that near to death in messs lives, and he tells us even during the afternoon which is their declining period someone already live in the status of evening. Its a typical instance of paradox in the last section of the poem.The language seems contradictory and not logical, but rattling it is to draw our attention to the awareness of our thought. It was snowing / And it was going to snow shows us plentys foresight through their make pop out and observation of nature. So Stevens instal the result before the foresight. After that he refers to the blackbird sat still in the cedar-limbs to indicate that in peoples old age the consciousness is not as active as its youth time. However, the experience we get in the whole life becomes precious possession and provides us the insight.The last section has a relation with section cardinal I was of three minds, / Like a tree / In which there are three blackbirds (II). The blackbirds in the tree always refer to our minds. So I am a tree, and I have three minds which are represent by three birds. In this section, Stevens probably suggest the three levels of peoples mind according to Freuds Id, ego and super-ego theory. In section four, Stevens says A man and a woman / Are one. / A man and a woman and a blackbird / Are one (IV). This is other application of paradox.In The Language of Paradox, when Brooks analysis Wordsworths poem he says It is not my intention to exaggerate Wordsworths own consciousness of the paradox involved (Brooks 60). Here we really c an dig out how the vote counter maybe unconsciously applies the paradox. When we say both or more than two distinct existents are one, it obviously sounds not acceptable and will land a consideration of this idea especially when we partly repeat the account but add another subject at the second time. slit four might try to discuss some religious thought in this world.He suggests every human being, no matter man or woman, is from one source. As objective existence, we and our consciousness are all real from one. In this poem, Stevens applies paradox through both audible and visible experiences. Brooks suggests But I am not here interested in enumerating the possible variations I am interested rather in our optic perception that the paradoxes spring from the very nature of the poets language it is a language in which the connotations play as great a part as the denotations (Brooks 61).From a broader vision, we may find the mastery of paradox language by Stevens via analysis of his work. In section five, he narrates I do not sock which to prefer, / The beauty of inflections / Or the beauty of innuendoes, / The blackbird whistling / Or ripe after (V). When the blackbird is whistling, there is a beauty of inflections along with it, but just after that we will see the beauty of innuendoes. Here the blackbird signifies the poem.While we are reading or reciting the poem, the pronunciation is similar to inflections of bird because of the rhythms and structure. Nevertheless, after reading it we can realize the innuendoes implied from it. A good poem is not only to let readers enjoy its inflections, but also cause us to rethink in our mind. Moreover, this section has a interesting connection with section eight. Similarly, the cashier refers to accents and rhythms to suggest the composition and recitation of the poem which creates the audible exercise for readers.Then he tells us his thought is also inescapable involved into the poem. Those two sections provide us how Stevens applies paradox with our sensory(prenominal) from hearing. Moreover, he creates the metaphor from visual aspect. Brooks states that I have said that even the apparently childlike and straightforward poet is forced into paradoxes by the nature of his instrument (Brooks 62). We can see this situation in section eleven where the narrator describes a picture which jumps into our imagination He rode over Connecticut / In a crank coach. Once, a fear pierced him, / In that he mistook / The shadow of his posture / For blackbirds (XI). The phrase In a glass coach tells us he is in a fragile status, and more than that glass is transparent. An illusion of blackbirds reflects his appalling emotion. Section three is another example of usage in this sensory respect. The narrator says The blackbird whirled in the autumn winds. / It was a small part of the pantomime (III). It begins with the only image of the blackbird that is overwhelmed by autumn winds.He sketches a close-up of the blackbird, and then tells us it is a small part of the pantomime. This enlarges our vision from close-up to the panorama, and indicates us that the blackbird is just a symbol of our life which is always out of control and encounters uncertainty. Brooks suggests that there is a sense in which paradox is the language appropriate and inevitable to poetry. It is the scientist whose truth requires a language purged of every trace of paradox apparently the truth which the poet utters can be approached only in terms of paradox (Brooks 58).In Wallace Stevens Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird, he actually displays thirteen types of interpretation from which people develop their understanding of consciousness. The application of paradox provides the poem a kick upstairs explanation of the theme. Through the usage of the symbolic technique and various aspects of sensory, the narrator discusses different levels of social and cultural thought. The most important function of paradox in this poem is to arouse peoples awareness of our consciousness and the ability to question our inherent understanding of our thought.