Great Scarf of Birds

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The Great Scarf of Bird All poets have a certain structure in order for their poem to be understood in an artistic and unique way. Through the use of organization, diction and figurative language, the poem is composed in a creative manner. In “The Great Scarf of Birds”, by John Updike, the speaker is understood through the use of all these methods. When the poet begins to speak of what he remembers, he uses vivid colors to describe his surroundings and also his stage in life. “Ripe apples were caught like red fish in the nets” (line 3). This symbolizes his stage in life that is “ripe” or closer to death. Like the fist in the nets he is caught on where his life should go. As the first stanza progresses, it leads the reader to the speaker’s eyesight which is focused on the abundant sky filled with birds. The speaker begins to express his awe and amazement that occurs when he sees the flock of birds in lines 14-24. He describes this flock as “a cloud of dots like iron filings which a magnet underneath the paper undulates” (lines 16-18). This is a simile to death, something that is too strong for even the human spirit. This “cloud” is darkened in spots. This color imagery is another way to symbolize death in which the poet at this time fears. He describes the flock as a living being in line 20 when he describes this “cloud” as one that “paled, pulsed, distended”. This is like the movements of a heartbeat. He also depicts the flock of starlings as a rock, something constant, sturdy, and indestructible. In the next stanza, reality dawns on the speaker. He is distracted by his own world and does not see it as beautiful. It seems as if this scene is a work of art. It is beautiful from afar but jaded looking up close. When he looks around, he considered himself like Lot’s wife, a person turned into a pillar of salt when looking at something he shouldn’t have. He
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