The Pigeons
By Richard Kell
They paddle with staccato feet
In powder-pools of sunlight,
Small blue busybodies
Strutting like fat gentlemen
With hands clasped
Under their swallowtail coats;
And, as they stump about,
Their heads like tiny hammers
Tap at imaginary nails
In non-existent walls.
Elusive ghosts of sunshine
Slither down the green gloss
Of their necks in an instant, and are gone.Summer hangs drugged from sky to earth
In limpid fathoms of silence:
Only warm dark dimples of sound
Slide like slow bubbles
From the contented throats.Raise a casual hand –
With one quick gust
They fountain into air.
Summary of The Pigeons
- Popularity of “The Pigeons”: The poem “The Pigeons” by Richard Alexander Kell, an Irish Methodist missionary, writer, poet, and critic, is an interesting poem about pigeons. The poem appeared first in In New Poetry Workshop held in 1983. Although it presents pigeons in a casual way, its poetic structure is excellent. This excellence of the poem lies in its presentation of the pigeons in a metaphorically comparative language that shows their actions as well as them in a lighter mood.
- “The Pigeons” As a Representative of Natural Life: Painting the pigeons in a melody seems to be a unique touch of Kell in this poem when he compares their paddling with staccato through a metaphorical representation and alliterative busy activities. This use of figurative language to show the activities of pigeons as if they are human beings and musical-like notes show the poet’s responsible behavior toward the natural life as if he is a conservationist. He compares their feet, activities, heads, and even their shiny feathers to conclude that when the season changes, so does their behavior and so does the poetic mood. The only thing their disappearance needs is a “quick gust” or a casual hand from somebody, or the poet and the pigeons, or nature disappears.
- Major Themes in “The Pigeons”: Preservation of nature, natural life, and pleasures of natural life are some of the major thematic strands of this poem. The poem opens with the pleasure of the pigeons’ dance, comparing them to different human acts to reach the conclusion that natural life is a cyclical life like that of human beings or seasons and that the pigeons also leave like nature, or the human beings. Therefore, this transient pleasure must be enjoyed in a transient manner and preserved like a precious thing.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “The Pigeons”
literary devices are important to make poem or prose writing beautiful and worth reading. The analysis of these devices in the poem as given below shows this fact.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /a/ in “They paddled with staccato feet”, /o/ in “Under their swallowtail coats” and the sound of /a/ in “Tap at imaginary nails.”
- Alliteration: It is the use of successive consonant sounds in the initials of the successive words such as /b/ in “blue busybodies” and the sound of /d/ in dark dimples.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /p/ in “In powder-pools of sunlight”, /s/ in “Summer hangs drugged from sky to earth” and the sound of /d/ and /s/ in “But give me your sun from yonder skies!”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;
Raise a casual hand –
With one quick gust
They fountain into air.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. The poem shows the use of imagery such as “Small blue busybodies”, “With hands clasped” and “Under their swallowtail coats.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poem shows the use of metaphors such as staccato, busybodies, and dimples.
- Personification: The poet has shown the use of summer, dimples, and wind have life and emotions of their own. The poet has personified them.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poem shows the use of the symbols of natural objects such as feet, coats, walls, sky, and earth to show his conservationist mind.
- Similes: The poem shows the use of similes such as; ‘Their heads like tiny hammers’, ‘Only warm dark dimples of sound / Slide like slow bubbles’ and ‘Strutting like fat gentleman’.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “The Pigeons”
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: The poet has used highly figurative language full of metaphors and similes as the analysis shows but its mood is that of a conservationist who wants to preserve it.
- Free Verse: The poem does not follow any rhyme scheme. Therefore, it is a free verse poem.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. Three are three stanzas with each having different verses such as the first one has 13, the second has five and the last one has only three.
Quotes to be Used
These lines from “The Pigeons” are relevant to use when comparing nature to human life.
They paddle with staccato feet
In powder-pools of sunlight,
Small blue busybodies
Strutting like fat gentlemen
