Three Little Birds in a Row
By Stephen Crane
“Three little birds in a row
Sat musing.
A man passed near that place.
Then did the little birds nudge each other.
They said, “He thinks he can sing.”
They threw back their heads to laugh.
With quaint countenances
They regarded him.
They were very curious,
Those three little birds in a row.
Summary of Three Little Birds in a Row
- Popularity of “Three Little Birds in a Row”: This short and mischievous poem by Stephen Crane, an iconic American writer, and poet, first appeared in 1926. Even the poet himself thought that his entire reputation and career rested on The Red Badge of Courage, his popular novel. However, he later came to know that these few poetic words have become even more popular. The popularity of this poetic piece rests on the very simple incident and the presentation of that incident through the perspective of social psychology.
- “Three Little Birds in a Row” As a Representative of Social Psychology: Crane presents a bird’s eye view of three birds sitting in a row and musing. A man passes by them, and they nudge each other to become alert that he is passing by them. Then they exchange a view about the man saying that he is singing and thinks that he can sing. They laugh it off without any comment and just make faces. They are very curious to know that the man can sing. In fact, it is their ironic way of looking at the man and thinking that he can think that he can sing like them has made this poem worth reading and full of meanings. The poem presents the social psychology of how a little crowd thinks about a person who seems to be the odd one out.
- Major Themes in “Three Little Birds in a Row”: Crowd thinking, social outcast, and curiosity are the three major thematic strands of the poem “Three Little Birds in a Row.” The main point of crowd thinking lies in the sitting position of the birds that they are sitting in a row and are very curious about the man who is alone and who passes by them. They become curious about his singing and mutter with each other so that the man thinks that he can sing like them. This ironic remark shows the status of a social outcast who does not conform to social standards or who is considered an odd one out. That is why the birds are sitting in a row and mocking the man for his idea of being a singer.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in Three Little Birds in a Row
Stephen Crane’s skill in using literary devices lies in his poetic output. He has demonstrated it in this poem. Some of the major literary devices used in this poem are as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /a/ in “A man passed near that place” and the sound of /i/ in “Three little birds in a row.”
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession, such as the sound of /c/ in “quaint countenances.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /r/ in “Those three little birds in a row” and the sound of /n/ and /s/ in “A man passed near that place.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Stephen Crane used imagery in this poem, such as “A man passed near that place”, “Then did the little birds nudge each other” and “Those three little birds in a row.”
- Irony: It is a figure of speech in which the real meanings of words or utterances are different from the actual ones. The real meaning of “he thinks he can sing” is that the man cannot sing, and he imitates the birds.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols such as birds, a row, and heads to show how they represent the crowd.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Three Little Birds in a Row
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: It means the type of language. The poem shows pithy and crispy diction.
- Free Verse: It means the use of verses without rhyming or metrical pattern. This poem shows the use of free verses.
- Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. Here each stanza is quatrain.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are two stanzas in this poem, with the first having four verses and the second having six verses.
- Tone: It means the voice of the text. The poem shows an ironic as well as sarcastic tone.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote when an amateur tries to sing.
They said, “He thinks he can sing.”
They threw back their heads to laugh.
With quaint countenances
They regarded him.
