A Barred Owl

It is said that the pen is mightier than the sword, in that words are a powerful weapon. They are also a powerful shield, and in 'A Barred Owl' (2000), a poem by American poet Richard Wilbur, the power of words to soothe and gloss over reality to lessen fear is put on display. Imbued with a deeper meaning, Wilbur utilizes literary devices such as diction, tone, and personification throughout the poem to present the themes of truthfulness and the power of language.

A Barred Owl at a Glance

A Barred Owl Context

Richard Wilbur is often heralded by critics as a predecessor to what became the New Formalist or Neo-Formalist movement in poetry. This was a movement that showcased a return to metered poetry with formal rhyme schemes; it was a marked difference from the popular, free-verse poetry of the time that fell into the Modernist or Confessional movements that are characterized by their lack of formal structure or meter. 'A Barred Owl' can be seen as an example of Neo-Formalist poetry as it follows a strict AABBCC rhyme scheme and utilizes a metered line of iambic pentameter.

A Barred Owl Summary

‘A Barred Owl’ tells the story of a child’s nighttime fears and how parents can use words to alleviate them. The speaker of the poem says ‘we,’ inviting the reader to share in the experience of soothing a frightened child. In the first stanza, a young child is frightened by the “boom/Of an owl’s voice” (1-2) that she can hear in her room at night. Her parents tell her not to worry, that it was just the owl asking her “‘Who cooks for you?’” (6).

The second stanza explains how words have the power to expose our fears but also to lessen them, as seen in how the parent’s explanation allows the child to fall asleep peacefully. In a slight turn, the reality of the owl’s lifestyle is described in detail – while the child sleeps peacefully, dreaming of a kindly owl, the owl is, in fact, devouring raw a small creature it has killed.

A Barred Owl Full Poem

Meaning of the poem A Barred Owl

In "A Barred Owl", Richard Wilbur points out the power of language. When a child is frightened by the booming voice of an owl, her parents must only explain that the owl is asking an innocent question and the child falls asleep easily. Never mind the reality that would surely be far more frightening to the girl than just the owl’s voice – that the owl is outside her window, eating its most recent kill. The poem is simultaneously an exaltation of the power of language, and the “Words, which can make our terrors bravely clear,/Can also thus domesticate a fear” (7-8) are an acknowledgment of the way language is used to sugarcoat reality.

Fig. 1 - The intense gaze of an owl is potentially frightening.

A Barred Owl Theme Analysis

Let us take a look at the themes used in the Barred Owl

The power of language

Wilbur uses this poem as an opportunity to exemplify the power of language; he does so both in the poem’s meaning and in his own use of language. The interpretation of the poem shows its meaning – that language can both inspire and assuage fears – as we can see from the parent soothing the child through words. Wilbur plays with the power of language within the poem itself, alternately describing the dark reality of an owl in the night as well as obscuring reality by describing the owl as just a friendly woodland creature. In doing so, he both states his hypothesis and proves it true.

Truthfulness

While the parents in the poem utilize the power of language to soothe their scared daughter, they do so by blurring reality. They tell her the owl is just asking an innocent question (Who cooks her food?), but the real circumstances of the owl would likely frighten her even more than she already is.

In this way, Wilbur makes a statement about truthfulness and the power of language to obscure the truth, even if in an effort to be helpful or kind. By seemingly protecting their daughter from the reality of the owl, they may be doing her a disservice as she will have to face up to reality in the future. As a result of her parent’s words, she will be underprepared.

Literary Devices in A Barred Owl

The literary device used are as follows

Rhyme Scheme in 'A Barred Owl'

Wilbur uses a strict, formal rhyme scheme throughout the poem. The stanzas consist of two sestets and follow a rhyme scheme of AABBCC. His use of a strict rhyme scheme only serves to exemplify his skill with word choice and subject matter. Even within the confines of a rhyme scheme in just 12 lines, Wilbur is able to deliver a stirring, evocative poem that posits a grand idea about the nature and power of language.

Fig. 2 - The woods at night time can be frightening to a child.

Diction in A Barred Owl

Wilbur’s word choice is precisely done to convey the poem’s meaning and jar the reader. He utilizes vocabulary to clearly paint a picture of a frightening creature to a little girl: an owl with a “boom” (1) of a voice within the “warping” (1) night. He sets the scene and conveys her fear. He then does what the parents do: he soothes that fear and tension by immediately reducing the owl to “a forest bird” (4) asking an “odd question” (4). Rather than a booming voice echoing in a dark, sinister night, the owl becomes a mundane citizen of the local woodlands asking a neighborly question.

Similarly, in the second stanza, the first three lines are measured as Wilbur explains the power of language. He helps clarify words' power by using the adjective “bravely” (7) and shows that the power of words “domesticates” (8) fears so that a “small child” (9) may sleep. This word choice serves to put the reader at ease.

Then, just as suddenly, the owl is “stealthily” (10) in flight and has captured something in its “claw” which it has subsequently flown up to a “dark branch” (12) and “eaten raw” (12). Once again, Wilbur puts the reader at ease and then reinforces the power of language by exposing its ability to be unsettling.

Juxtaposition in A Barred Owl

Wilbur employs juxtaposition in the poem to exemplify the theme of truthfulness and the power of words. While he acknowledges that words can “domesticate a fear” (8), this statement is juxtaposed with the reality of nature. While the parents in the poem were able to ‘domesticate’ their young daughter’s fear, nothing would be able to domesticate the owl in reality, which was causing her fear. It remains wild and untamed, killing rodents and eating them raw.

Juxtaposition is seen also in the question the parents impose upon the owl: they assure their daughter that the owl only asks “‘Who cooks for you?’” (6) so that she may think of the owl as a friendly, curious creature. In all likelihood, the girl’s loving parents cook her meals for her. Compare this to the owl: it has no one to cook its meal and consumes its fresh victims raw. This juxtaposition is striking, and Wilbur uses it to serve his ultimate message about the power of language to soothe, and to obscure reality in doing so.

Tone in A Barred Owl

Wilbur utilizes both an informative and cautionary tone throughout the poem. It is informative in his hypothesis about the power of language, how it can both create and calm fears. The girl's experience with the owl is used as an example to show the power of language. At the end of the poem, however, he moves to a darker tone that expounds upon the slightly scarier reality of the owl – his tone shifts to a cautionary one to warn the reader about the power of language to obscure reality.

1. Richard Wilbur. Poetry Readings: 'A Barred Owl'. Web of Stories: Life Stories of Remarkable people.