Read the poem, "The Barred Owl" by Wilbur and annotate it. Think about "boxing for meaning" or "boxing to find the tone shift" strategy we talked about in class on Wednesday.
When you get done annotating it, tell me what the poem is about and use my paragraph sample on your handout as a guide (if you don't have this, see my EChalk page for a copy).
The Barred Owl by Richard Wilbur conveys the irrationality of fear that lies in humanity during dark times and how words can either exemplify that fear or assuage it. The poem begins with a child being frightened by the “boom of an owl’s voice” (1-2, Wilbur) while she is sleeping. Because of the darkness of the night and the unfamiliar voice of the owl, the child is unreasonably scared. To assuage her fears, her assumed parents tell her the owl was not intending to frighten her; instead, his call innocently asked “Who cooks for you?” (6, Wilbur), which is very relieving to the child. The barred owl was used in this poem to represent something mysterious and frightening towards the child, which then was used to comfort the child. A tone shift occurs from the first stanza—which was assuring when discussing the child—to the second, which expresses Wilbur’s delve into the power of words. Wilbur’s message of the poem warns that word can “make our terrors bravely clear” (7, Wilbur) when they are not used reassuringly during times of distress; contrarily, as we saw in the first stanza, words can also tame or “domesticate a fear” (8, Wilbur). The tone of the second stanza is outright and a bit forewarning; the owl and child incident is a symbol for the larger, darker problems that humanity face. Wilbur continues to describe how not using the right words can have repercussions: in this instance, the child would have kept awake with worry or dreamed of gruesome, menacing images about the owl if her parents had not eased her fears. Because the poem lacks mystery, the syntax and rhyme scheme is common and simple: the only punctuation is one question mark in the sixth line, and there is an AABBCCDDEEFF rhyme scheme.
ReplyDeleteThe beginning of the poem presents a fearful or frightening tone. It shows how the lack of light can scare or startle someone. The small child is woken up because of the "boom of an owls voice into her darkened room"(1-2) and it is only because of darkness that she is afraid. The mystery that lies beyond what the eye can see will instill fear into the young and even the old. When she awoke from her parents are there to calm her down and they tell her that the owl is only asking "Who cooks for you?"(6) This helps the child feel much safer and she rests her eyes as she drifts back to her deep slumber. The second stanza is where the tone shift occurs. The later stanza's tone sounds like it is analyzing the actions that have just occurred. It sounds like the parents are conferring with each other when it says "Words, which can make our terrors bravely clear, Can also thus domesticate fear."(7-8) It sounds like they are discussing the inquisitiveness of words. Words can create or fill a person with fear or they can soothe a person's conscience and make them feel secure. The author then talks about terrifying images that could've been conjured up within the child's mind without the aid of her parents words. Words are a powerful tool in the world and I believe that this poem only reinforces that fact.
ReplyDeleteThe poem “The Barred Owl” by Richard Wilbur is about overcoming fear. The “main character” is a little girl who is jolted awake by a mysterious noise and right away the poem is relatable; we have all woken up abruptly before. Because Wilbur described the noise the owl made as a “boom” (line 1) the reader is instantly put in the mindset of this little girl. We are able to imagine how startling such a loud noise in the middle of the night would be. The “odd question” (4) the owl is asking is somewhat representative of the fact that not everything is straightforward. The child immediately thought that the noise was something to be scared of, when in actuality it was not anything to be worried about.
ReplyDeleteThe tone shift in this poem occurs between the first and second stanza. The first six lines tell the story – a child is afraid of a strange noise she hears at night – while the second stanza discusses what words do. When Wilbur writes that words “can also thus domesticate a fear” (8) he is essentially explaining that discussing something horrible can take away the worry and anxiety. Because the little girl’s parents – or whoever “we” is in this poem – told her that the noise was nothing to be concerned about, she was able to go back to sleep in peace. However, if the parents had not calmed the girl’s nerves, she would have been stuck awake all night thinking about what kind of monster was lurking outside her bedroom window. The message in this poem is that to overcome a fear, we need to understand the truth behind it. What is really going on and is it actually something to be fearful of? Because sometimes the thing that startles you most will turn out to be something as harmless as an owl in the middle of the night.
In the poem, The Barred Owl by Richard Wilbur, there is a tone shift after the ninth line. The first nine lines talk about a "wakened child" (3) and how she doesn't need to be scared of an owl. The lines after that are more dark and graphic. When reading the 12th line, "Borne up to some dark branch and eaten raw" you can very clearly see the image of some poor rodent being eaten by the owl. The meaning of this poem is that people often fear things at night, but fear can be taken away by the simple comfort of words. Just because those words comfort us, doesn't mean that what we feared isn't actually harmless. The child was scared of what "was an odd question from a forest bird" (4) but the owl who is harmless to the child, is harmful and deadly for the "small thing in a claw" (11). In life there are things that can harm us and things that we can harm. We have to be realistic with what we fear.
ReplyDeleteThe Barred Owl by Richard Wilbur is describing a child being emotionally protected by her parents. It gives imagery of the little girl trying to sleep at night when she hears a noise that frightens her. Her parents sooth her and tell her that the noise is simply an owl asking, “Who cooks for you” (6). The first stanza has a protective tone. The tone shifts in the second stanza, when the tense changes to the outside world. The second stanza has an eerie tone, as a dark forest is described. The parents were able to shield their child from the scary noise, but she is unaware that the owl has “some small thing in a claw” (11) that will be eaten raw. It’s ironic that the owl was asking “who cooks for you” (6), while in reality, the owl is “cooking” for itself. The meaning of this poem is that you can’t shield yourself—or your child—from everything. You can numb your mind to believe a happier story, but you never know what kinds of horrors could be happening in a “dark branch” (12) of the world.
ReplyDelete"The Barred Owl" by Richard Wilbur is one to take your mind for a spin when thinking about the meaning. It isn't until the second seset where you find the major tone shift, and nonetheless, the true meaning. Wilbur's poem takes the reader on a mysterious ride when he talks about an owl and the, "odd question from a forest bird" (4) which come alive at night. In the second stanza Wilbur explains his own meaning; it's all what you have to say, because, "Words, {which can} make our terrors bravely clear, can also thus domesticate a fear" (7-8). This key sentence gives us our meaning--words affect everyone and everything about them. What words someone decided to use can affect someone to the point of, "Dreaming of some small thing in a claw" (11). Wilbur's overall message was that words are vital to every individual's life.
ReplyDeleteAt first I assumed "The Barred Owl" was a sonnet, but after double-checking myself I came to realize it is not, "The Barred Owl" is a twelve lined poem. The poem has a rhyme scheme of AABBCC DDEEFF, with a single break between the two sets of sesets. Wilbur does a fabulous job of identifying a major detail which affects everyday lives.
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ReplyDeleteRichard Wilbur’s, A Barred Owl, depicts an illogically imaginative sense of freight within the minds of the youth population. The girl is abruptly startled from the “boom” of “the warping night air (1) and the persona makes an attempt to sooth her by taking a foreign approach on her nightmare: distorting the terrifying noise, "which can make our terrors bravely clear, can also thus domesticate a fear" (7&8). From a structural observation, the poem possesses merely one punctuation: a question mark, and has a persistent AABBCC DDEEFF rhyme scheme. In the second seset, the vivid imagery, “Not listening for the sound of stealthy flight, or dreaming of some small thing in a claw, borne up to some dark branch and eaten raw” (10-12) portrays an intensely ferocious and disturbed atmosphere or tone. It also presents us with a new philosophy: The “barred owl” slyly latches it’s talons upon the prey, and devours it. Much like this creature, humanity becomes consumed in its temptations, only to be devoured by our fears.
ReplyDeleteRichard Wilbur's The Barred Owl details man's fear of the unknown and the power of words. The first two lines tell of a frightened child, awoken by "an owl's voice" (2). The young girl's "weakened" (3) state conveys the frightful tone of the first two lines and transitions into a more sympathetic tone.
ReplyDeleteAnother tone shift occurs with the new stanza (line 7). At that point, the poem focuses more on words. The soothing tone takes over as the child goes "back to sleep at night" (9), calmed by an explanation. The poem shows how we have terrors that are hidden within us, terrors that can be brought up by a simple "voice" (2). However, a similar voice may be able to rationalize those fears. We may not be able to see everything that is out in the night, but frightening ideas can be deceptive. It is often something much less scary.