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THE WOODPECKER KEEPS RETURNING, by             Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography


In Jane Hirshfield's "The Woodpecker Keeps Returning," the interplay between humans and nature serves as a canvas to explore themes of longing, identity, and communication. At the surface, the poem describes a woodpecker that persistently drills into a house wall. However, as the poem unfolds, it becomes evident that the woodpecker is not merely an annoying creature, but a symbol fraught with deeper meanings, representing both the narrator and a universal search for connection.

The first stanza sets the scene by detailing how the woodpecker "keeps returning" to "drill the house wall." Despite efforts to deter him by putting "a pie plate over one place," the woodpecker remains undeterred and "chooses another." This initial portrayal might be read as a simple annoyance or even as a comedic take on the struggle between man and nature. But as the poem progresses, it becomes clear that the woodpecker's persistence has a more profound meaning.

The woodpecker isn't looking for food in the wall; he has turned the house into "a resonant billboard to post his intentions, / his voluble strength as provider." Here, the wall serves as a medium for the woodpecker's communication, an advertisement of his worth and capabilities. His drumming serves as a kind of language, broadcasting messages of his prowess, perhaps to attract a mate.

The query at the heart of the poem occurs in the lines: "But where is the female he drums for? Where?" This question extends the focus beyond the woodpecker's actions to a broader theme of existential loneliness and search for companionship. It points towards a universal sense of longing and the desire to communicate our 'self' to another.

In a twist, the narrator identifies with all elements of the poem: "I ask this, who am myself the ruined siding, / the handsome red-capped bird, the missing mate." This identification complicates the poem by suggesting that the narrator is both the seeker and the sought, both the message and the receiver, both the destroyer and the destroyed. This multifaceted identification offers a nuanced view of the human condition. We are all, in various ways, broadcasting signals to find connection while simultaneously being the canvas on which others broadcast theirs.

The poem navigates the boundaries between the individual and the collective, between the self and the other. By embodying the woodpecker, the house, and the missing mate, the narrator reflects the multi-dimensional nature of longing, communication, and identity. We are at once isolated and interconnected, seeking to post our intentions on the billboards of each other's lives. This exploration makes "The Woodpecker Keeps Returning" a poem rich in emotional and thematic resonance, capturing the complex interplay of our roles as both signalers and receivers in the constant quest for connection.


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