I had a difficult time understanding the poem at first, because its language was so flowery and filled with words I'd never heard of -- including "arras." Once I'd gone through with a dictionary and figured them out, though, the poem unfolded beautifully. In essence, it's the story of a bird who mistakes a curtain embroidered with birds and greenery as a real setting, and attempts to join her threaded avian sisters. Unfortunately, she gets caught in the fabric, frees herself, and then proceeds to fly into the ceiling and the windowpane in an attempt to escape. She is only freed when someone watching opens the window for her.
To me, the poem was almost autobiographical. I immediately began to read it through the point of view of Finch struggling as a female poet in the 17th and 18th centuries. Finch, as the bird (who has been directly identified as a "she"), sees a beautiful world of art and poetry that she desperately wants to join (the arras), as a respite from the mundane everyday life of a woman in that time (the "sultry Noon"). Her first few attempts only serve to confuse her (as she is caught in the tapestry), and her being a woman only seems to set her back even farther (hitting the ceiling). But with some guidance, in the way of a mentor or maybe simple inspiration, she manages to succeed and acheive what she set out to do (as the hand opens the window and the bird flies out).
Thank you for getting the poem's name right. Not "In the Arras," but "and." :)
ReplyDeleteThe poem is intensely autobiographical, as Finch not only represented a small body of female poets of the time, but wrote material not necessarily in keeping with commoner themes. In a sense, every poet, whether or not they actually push artistic boundaries, feels the way the bird does; I find this poem intensely modern in that the idea of introspection, handled subtly and tastefully, reflects a far more modern sense of self then one might come to expect from a poem of this time period.
I like your analysis, Kellsey. I hadn't caught on to the strong feminist aspect of the poem until I read your post then re-read the poem. Going off of what you said about the bird (female poet) wanting to participate in the "beautiful world of art and poetry," I find it interesting that, on encountering that world, she discovers that the "Grove," "sky," and "Fowl" therein are nothing but "immitat[ions]" of reality. Basically, the world of poetry, owned by men, is totally artificial. In addition to remarking on women's restricted lifestyle, Finch is criticizing male-dominated society (specifically concerning art/poetry) as fake, and therefore lacking merit. Her use of the word "obdurate," defined as "stubbornly refusing to change one's opinion or course of action," is quite telling on this subject. The female poet can only find true beauty outside this constructed world where women do not belong, since the bird is released from the house where it's trapped to "ample space" and a "Heav'n of birds." Finch indicates that true freedom and beauty in poetry exists outside of manmade society, implying this society is truly inferior.
ReplyDeletegreat readings! Lindsay, how do you interpret the helping hand? Does Finch suggest that reaching a more "natural" poetic condition can only happen through community? If so, what kind of community is she invoking here?
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post I was left pondering if her issue with the world of poetry being tied to static symbols or if it has to do with the male dominate structures in poetry. I want to lean toward the former as it makes more sense in context but if that's the case then why would she choose to use such a stilted image herself. It would be pretty naive of her to assume she is the first person to use the bird metaphor in an inventive way. I felt like she should have tried to come up with something more novel if she wanted to criticize others lack of innovation. I guess that's my two cents on the poem.
ReplyDeleteConsidering the time period and the climate of the art and poetry scene was then I feel your reading was excellent. This poem reminds me of a book by Nell Scovell, Sheryl Sandberg titled "Lean In" that is still very popular in entrepreneurially circles, particularly with women in the professional work field. It can be found here http://leanin.org/book/
ReplyDeleteAlthough, there were great parallels with plight of women in many fields of work, edging for mutual regard with males in those fields, I found that the poem can apply to anybody that sees a class ceiling or an inner circle that they can't seem to break into and be respected by. Possibly even an old art form or tradition that a new artist challenges that "the bird" get entangled with. This reminds me of Bruce Lee and how his new form of martial arts challenged the norms and traditions of an ancient old form of combat. The story goes that their were attempts on Bruce Lee's life and many forms of blackballing and intimidation were implemented due to Lee's "against the grain," tactics.