Pathetic Fallacy. The pathetic fallacy is the tendency to attribute human emotions to nonhuman things, particularly to things in the natural world. As you read the “The Snow Man,” decide what Stevens’s attitude toward nature is.
Image and Imagery. An image is language that creates a concrete representation of an object or an experience. An image is also the vivid mental picture created in the reader’s mind by that language. The images in a literary work are referred to, collectively, as the work’s imagery. As you read “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird,” think about what the primary image throughout the poem is.
Abstract and Concrete. An abstract word or phrase is one that refers to something that cannot be directly perceived by the senses. Freedom, power, and dignity are examples of abstract terms. A concrete word or phrase is one that describes something that can be directly perceived by one or more of the five senses. Examples of concrete terms include rainbow, lark, and scorpion. Look for concrete and abstract terms as you read “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird.”
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These two selections were published in Stevens’s first book of poems, Harmonium, which includes some of his finest work. The poems, while very different in subject matter, both treat a common theme found in much of Stevens’s poetry: the nature of perception and its relationship to the imagination. The first poem, “The Snow Man,” deals with what is known as the pathetic fallacy, the tendency of people to interpret nature in human ways and attribute to it human feelings and motivations. The second, “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird,” shows how the same object of perception, in this case a blackbird, can yield different meanings, depending on the attitude and imagination of the perceiver.
What feelings do spring, summer, fall, and winter evoke in you?
When you think of blackbirds, what images come to mind?
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