Robert Frost

A Minor Bird

A Minor Bird - context Summary

From a Further Range

This short poem appears in Robert Frost’s 1936 collection A Further Range and reflects his later, reflective voice. In a few plain lines the speaker admits irritation at a bird’s singing, then recognizes the fault lies with himself and with the desire to silence any song. Placed late in Frost’s career, the poem exemplifies his economical, conversational manner and moral modesty: small domestic observation leading to a quiet ethical insight about tolerance and self-awareness.

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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.

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