Thirteen Ways of Self-Questioning

Thirteen Ways of Self-Questioning The verse Thirteen Ways of controling for at a Black annulus is written by W every(prenominal)ace Stevens. It contains thirteen sections each section provides us a picture that is centered by the particle of merl. Blackbird in the numbers signifies peoples wittingness. So this poetry wants to tell us that every person has a perspective to look at the world. It questions our process of thought to understand the world, and reminds us realize the enigma of it. In The Language of Paradox by Cleanth Brooks, he introduces the notion of enigma and its application in poetry.In Stevens poem we fundament also find how he characters the device of puzzle to raise the question for gentlemany times, and also the use of conundrum leads us to reconsider our thought. Stevens displays several common understanding in human being. According to Brooks viewpoint, Our prejudices force us to regard paradox as intellectual kinda than emotional, clever rather th an profound, rational rather than divinely irrational (Brooks 58). The first section is an introduction of the whole poem Among twenty snowy mountains, / The only moving thing / Was the eye of the merl (I).This is to tell us the nature is huge, simply with it the only existence that is conscious ab bring out it is human brain. Twenty snowy mountains stand for the broad indispensable environment, but they are still and seem lifeless. Then he transferred the focalize to the eye of the blackbird which is the only moving thing. Stevens uses the instead of a when he refers to blackbird be wooing he wants to make it very clear that he refers it exceptional to humans consciousness.In section twelve, he says The river is moving. / The blackbird must be flying (XII). This section responds to section sensation, because he uses the modifiers moving and flying in two sections respectively to express the same notion that our consciousness is changing over time. Cleanth Brooks describes paradox this way Paradox is the nomenclature of sophistry, hard bright, witty (Brooks 58). In Stevens poem, in order to make readers realize the enigma in the process of our thought.He narrates It was level all afternoon. / 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. even is the time that near to death in peoples spicys, 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 style seems contradictory and not logical, but actually it is to draw our attention to the consciousness of our thought. It was snowing / And it was going to snow shows us peoples foresight through their experience and observation of nature. So Stevens put the result before the foresight. After that he refers to the blackbird sat still in the cedar-limbs to indicate that in peoples emeritus age the consciousness is not as active as its young time. However, the experience we get in the whole life becomes precious self-possession and provides us the insight.The last section has a relation with section two I was of terzetto minds, / Like a tree / In which in that location are three blackbirds (II). The blackbirds in the tree continuously refer to our minds. So I am a tree, and I have three minds which are represented 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 another 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 refer (Brooks 60). present we really can dig out how the narrator maybe unconsciously applies the paradox. When we say two or more than two distinct existents are one, it obviously sounds not acceptable and allow for bring a consideration of this idea especially when we partly cite the narrative but add another subject at the south time. Section four might try to discuss some apparitional 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 developed from one. In this poem, Stevens applies paradox through both hearable and apparent experiences. Brooks suggests But I am not here elicit in enumerating the possible variations I am interested rather in our seeing 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 imaging, we may find the mastery of paradox language by Stevens via analysis of his work. In section five, he narrates I do not know which to prefer, / The beauty of inflections / Or the beauty of innuendoes, / The blackbird whistling / Or just 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 conjunction with section eight. Similarly, the narrator refers to accents and rhythms to suggest the composition and recitation of the poem which creates the audible enjoyment for readers.Then he tells us his thought is also inescapable involved into the poem. Those two sect ions provide us how Stevens applies paradox with our sensory from hearing. Moreover, he creates the illustration from visual aspect. Brooks states that I have said that even the seemingly simple 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 glass coach. Once, a fear pierced him, / In that he mistook / The bum of his equipage / 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 fondness of blackbirds reflects his fearful emotion. Section three is another example of usage in this sensory respect. The narrator says The blackbird whirled in the gloaming winds. / It was a venial 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 flavour at a Blackbird, he actually displays thirteen types of definition from which people develop their understanding of consciousness. The application of paradox provides the poem a further explanation of the theme. Through the usage of the symbolic technique and non-homogeneous aspects of sensory, the narrator discusses different levels of social and cultural thought. The most important percentage of para dox in this poem is to arouse peoples awareness of our consciousness and the ability to question our inherent understanding of our thought.