Peacock and Nightingale Robert Finch (1948) Look at the eyes from my tail! What other eyes could look so well? A peacock asks a nightingale. And how my feathers twist the sun! Confess that no one, no, no one Has ever seen such colour spun. Who would not fall in ecstasy Before the gemmed enamelry Of ruby-topaz-sapphire me? When my proud tail parades its fan You, little bird, are mere an Anachronism in its van Let me advise that you be wise Avoid the vision of my eyes. And then the nightingale replies. Robert Finch’s poem “Peacock and Nightingale” tells a story in which a peacock and a nightingale are participants, but only the peacock speaks. Here, the poet sets you up for an ironic outcome, requiring you to imagine what the sound and quality of the nightingale’s response will be—which becomes (in your mind) a symbol for the poem’s theme. In other words, the nightingale’s unheard song symbolizes beauty that speaks for itself: It does not require explanation from anyone, includ¬ing an arrogant, dull-voiced peacock (Clugston, 2010).
Posted on: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 17:51:56 +0000
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