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Overview
“Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird” is a poem by the American poet Wallace Stevens, which he published in his debut collection of 1923, Harmonium
. The poem has an unusual structure that consists of thirteen individually numbered stanzas. Each stanza offers a fragmentary, haiku-like perspective on a blackbird. This series of disconnected images has a kaleidoscopic effect that ultimately emphasizes the plural nature of perception. There isn’t just one way to look at a blackbird! In the century since its publication, the poem has inspired numerous musical compositions, pieces of fiction, essays, and other poems.Read a summary & analysis, an analysis of the speaker, and explanations of important quotes from “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird.”
