Birdshooting Season Analysis 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Level

Atharva
1st Level
Plot
This poem is about the traditions and practices that take place during birdshooting season in a
household that is in a rural area in the countryside. As the poem progresses, we learn that from
far, many hunters meet up at a public gathering in a particular household, where various
traditions take place, such as the men showing up with their guns, and the women preparing hot
coffee for the men. We also know that the men arrive at the household on the previous day, and
they have strong dinks, which are highly concentrated. Then early in the morning, the men leave
in the darkness with their guns, followed by the women and children standing at the doorstep.
Setting
This story takes place in a rural area, in the countryside, where there is a lot of vegetation/trees.
We know this because the name of the poem is ‘birdshooting season’, which indicates to us that
this poem involves the shooting of birds for sport, which would most likely take place in the
countryside, where there is an abundance of nature.
Characters

The Father: The character of the father is one of the first characters that are introduced in this
poem. This occurs on line 3. We learn that the Father in this poem might be a person of high
authority/importance, as in the first stanza, the speaker mentions that from far, the hunters gather
at his/her father’s house, resulting in it becoming ‘macho’. By calling the father’s house
‘macho’, the speaker personifies the house, by giving it an extraordinarily strong male presence.
This tells us that the father is facilitating the operations of this ‘birdshooting season’.
The Women: The women are the second set of characters that are present in this poem. They are
first mentioned on line 5, where they are described as ‘contentless’. This tells us that the women
are not particularly happy about this ‘birdshooting season’. We also learn that the women are at
the men’s service and they aren’t treated as equally, because in the second stanza, the women are
doing hard work, such as stirring their brews, whereas the men are enjoying and drinking highly
concentrated rum.
The little girls: Olive senior only mentions the little girls at the end of the poem, where they
whisper, ‘fly birds fly’. The whispering tells us that the girls want to rebel and fight for the lives
of the birds, but they are unable to do so because they are powerless. Another reason why they
are powerless are because they fear death, as the men are carrying guns.
The Little Boys: The little boys are mentioned in the last stanza, where Olive Senior writes that
they are longing to grow up and become birdhunters too. By making the boys act in this way,
Olive senior highlights how male-dominated the society is, as the boys view the men with guns
as positive role models.

Context
Throughout the poem, Olive Senior consistently separates the characters out in their groups
according to gender, especially by describing the women as weak, sad, and helpless and the
mean as powerful and strong. By segregating the characters in this way, Olive Senior highlights
how in this society, men and women are treated very unequally.

2nd Level
Main Topic/Central Message
The main idea that Olive Senior conveys in this poem to the audience is the inequality of the
roles of men, compared to women in this society. Olive senior also highlights many cultural
constructs and shows the different things that are expected from men and women in this society.
Another message that is conveyed throughout the poem is the effects of unhealthy relationships
between the men and women.
Author’s Purpose
Olive Senior’s purpose in this poem is to highlight how problematic this society is, due to
unequal rights between mean and women. This is done throughout the poem, as Olive senior
demonstrates how the men were immensely powerful and dominating, whereas the women were
fearful and powerless.
Point of View
This poem is written in the first-person point of view. We know this because on line 3, Olive
Senior writes: ‘my father’s house’. Olive Senior uses the first-person point of view to create a
mysterious effect by not providing any information about the narrator. Olive Senior also further
develops this mysterious effect by giving the perspective of both genders throughout the poem,
making the audience question whether the narrator is male or female. This keeps the audience
engaged into the poem.
Structure
Olive Senior structures the poem into 4 separate stanzas, each having a reference to a new idea.
The first stanza provides the audience a generalized perspective on what birdshooting season
really is. The second stanza establishes the fact that people were put out into their groups
according to gender, which highlights the themes of inequality. The third stanza is the shortest
stanza, and it highlights how violent and animal-like the men are, as in that stanza, they are
referred to as a ‘pack’ instead of a group. Finally, the last stanza represents powerlessness within
the women, as they want to save the birds’ lives, but they can’t rebel as they feel endangered
around the armed men.
Text Features
1. Allegory

An example of an allegory is in the 1st stanza, where Senior writes: “men make marriages
with their guns”. By writing this, Olive Senior makes a reference to a real-life issue
which existed in the underdeveloped society that this poem is situated in. In that time, the
society was very male dominated, which resulted in men preferring to have as much
power as they can, rather can care for their wives and families. This is represented by
“men make marriages with their guns”, as the men are very attached to having absolute
power, which is represented by the guns.

2. Alliteration

“Men make marriages” (line 2)

This is an example of alliteration, as each word begins with the same letter, which is ‘m’.

3. Blank Verse

“In darkness shouldering their packs, their guns, they leave”

This is an example of a blank verse, none of the words in the verse above have a rhyming
pattern or scheme.

4. Capitalization

“We stand quietly on the

doorstep shivering. Little boys
longing to grow up bird hunters too
Little girls whispering:
Fly birds fly”

In the stanza above, we can see that Olive Senior uses capital letters on “We”, “Little”,
and “Fly”. By capitalizing the letters on these words, Olive Senior stresses those specific
objects/people, which captures the audience’s attention.
3rd Level

Entire Poem

Throughout the poem, Olive Senior uses the theme of Power, which is represented by the
role that all the men play during birdshooting season. For example, Olive Senior makes a
reference to a real-life issue which existed in the underdeveloped society that this poem is
situated in. In that time, the society was very male dominated, which resulted in men
preferring to have as much power as they can, rather can care for their wives and
families. This is represented by “men make marriages with their guns”, as the men are
overly attached to having absolute power, which is represented by the guns.

1st Stanza

The first stanza introduces the theme of power, as in line 3, Olive Senior writes: “men
make marriages with their guns. This is a very generalized theme, as mentioned above

2nd Stanza

The second stanza establishes the fact that people were put out into their groups
according to gender, which highlights the theme of gender inequality. This occurs when
Olive senior mentions the women brewing the coffee and preparing for the next big day,
whereas the men were drinking rum and socializing.

3rd Stanza

The third stanza is the shortest stanza, and it highlights how violent and animal-like the
men are, as in that stanza, they are referred to as a ‘pack’ instead of a group. This
highlights the theme of violence, as the men are being compared to animals.

4th Stanza

Finally, the last stanza represents the theme of powerlessness within the women, as they
want to save the birds’ lives, but they cannot rebel as they feel endangered around the
armed men. This forms a contrast, as the men want the complete opposite of what the
women want.