Overall, the poem, a minor bird explores the struggle between wanting things our way and realizing the value of our differences.

This makes us think about accepting things as they are.

In this commentary, we shall explore:

• The theme

• Line by Line explanation

• Literary devices

• Rhyme scheme

Let’s read the poem 😊

A Minor Bird

By Robert Frost

I have wished a bird would fly away,
And not sing by my house all day; 

Have clapped my hands at him from the door 
When it seemed as if I could bear no more. 

The fault must partly have been in me. 
The bird was not to blame for his key. 

And of course there must be something wrong 
In wanting to silence any song

The Themes Of A Minor Bird

1. Everyone has a unique way of expressing themselves

The idea in the poem is about understanding and accepting that everyone has their own way of being, just like the bird’s unique song.

It’s like saying, “Hey, it’s cool if we’re not all the same,” and finding value in the different”songs” people bring to the world.

2. We must be careful when blaming others.

Sometimes we may think that we are are right and others are wrong.

Some self-reflection may later show we are the ones at fault.

Lines and Stanza Explanations

Stanza 1

The opening lines, “I have wished a bird would fly away, And not sing by my house all day,” immediately shows that the narrator wants to silence the voice of a singing bird.

The wish for the bird to fly away shows how we wish to escape from the daily distractions that surround us.

Stanza 2

The clapping of hands at the door shows that the narrator is bothered and therefore willing to do anything to get his peace back.

This shows an effort to regain control over our environment.

This is an act many of us have likely employed in different forms to restore peace and quietness.

Stanza 3

The narrator also admits he may be wrong for being bothered by the song of a minor bird.

The narrator states that the bird isn’t to blame for singing its own key.

The word “key” here means the bird’s unique song. It’s like saying the bird can’t help being itself.

Stanza 4

The poem ends by saying there’s something not right in wanting to stop any song.

It suggests that maybe it’s okay for things, including birds, to be as they are.

This can be related to our daily lives where some people always want to silence the voice of innocent people for no reason.

Literary Devices in a Minor Bird

Assonance

In line 2, by and my are repeated vowel sounds.

Rhymes

The last word in each of the lines rhymes.

Example: away/day, door/more, me/key and wrong/song.

Personification

1. Have clapped my hands at him from the door

2. The bird was not to blame for his key.

Alliteration

1. wrong in wanting

2. would fly away

3. silence any song

4. hands at him

Onomatopoeia

Have”Clapped” my hands at him from the door.

Hyperbole

And not sing by my house all day

Rhyme Scheme

aabbccdd

Conclusion

The poem, a minor bird makes the reader away of the beauty of our differences.

Why should we look down on people because they don’t agree with our point of view?

We should therefore look past our trivial differences and focus on the bigger picture to live in harmony with others.