Question

In the poem, "A Bird in the House" by Elizabeth Jennings, how does the speaker's attitude toward death change?

Answer 1

Answer:

When the poet witnessed the death of her canary as a child, she was not immediately moved to "tears or sadness" but was struck by the "fitness" of the burial of the canary. However, she later experienced loss as an adult and felt a deep sense of grief:

Not knowing death would be hard

Later, dark, without form or purpose.  

After my first true grief I wept, was sad, was dark, . . .

After she finished grieving, she recalled her childhood response to the death of the canary. She feels that her first response was wiser, though it seems to lack sensitivity. She feels that all human experience is a form of play, and death is a kind of farewell ritual:

The yellow bird sings in my mind and I say

That the child is callous but wise, knows the purpose of play.

Explanation:

Answer 2

When the poet witnessed the death of her canary as a child, she was not immediately moved to "tears or sadness" but was struck by the "fitness" of the burial of the canary. However, she later experienced loss as an adult and felt a deep sense of grief:

Not knowing death would be hard

Later, dark, without form or purpose.

After my first true grief I wept, was sad, was dark, . . .

After she finished grieving, she recalled her childhood response to the death of the canary. She feels that her first response was wiser, though it seems to lack sensitivity. She feels that all human experience is a form of play, and death is a kind of farewell ritual:

The yellow bird sings in my mind and I say

That the child is callous but wise, knows the purpose of play.