Eliza Jane Schaeffer Assignment 3

I chose to analyze "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" by Wallace Stevens. This poem is very philosophical and "Zen"-- the objective is to get the reader to really think about his self and
his role in the world. Stevens creates this philosophical, thought-provoking tone through his use of analogy. Throughout the poem, the blackbird is an analogy for the essence of nature/the human intellect. The poem is split into thirteen numbered stanzas that read a little bit like haikus. Each of the stanzas describes the blackbird in a different situation. Without that second layer of analogy, the poem reads as nonsense. There's very little connection between the stanzas. The analogy makes us really think about what the author is really saying, contributing to the overall philosophical tone of the piece. For example, the stanza:

The blackbird whirled in the autumn winds.
It was a small part of the pantomime.

really means that each of us is just a piece in the larger life force.


The definition of art I most agree with is "art is the desire of a man to express himself, to record the reactions of his personality to the world he lives in". I believe art must involve a physical work of creative expression of some sort, adding meaning to an original piece. The key word I add is "original." I don't believe that putting two clocks next to each other is art. I also don't think that documenting and destroying all of your personal belongings or leaving a pile of candy on the floor counts as art. But all other forms of creative, symbolic expression- architecture, speech-writing, stories, paintings, sculptures, videos- do count.