Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

David Wagoner’s “Talking Back” is a playful yet deeply reflective poem that examines the relationship between a domesticated Amazon parrot, Pythagoras, and his human companions. Through the dynamic interactions between the bird and the speaker, the poem explores themes of mimicry, identity, human-animal relationships, and the complexities of communication.

The parrot, Pythagoras, dominates the poem as a lively and unpredictable presence, “the master of our kitchen table.” This vivid introduction establishes the parrot as more than just a pet; he is an animated personality, brimming with intelligence and defiance. The bird’s mimicry—“Every good boy / Does fine!”—underscores his capacity to absorb and reproduce human sounds, yet these repetitions take on a life of their own, independent of their original meaning. His exclamations—“Pieces of eight / And gold doubloons!”—evoke the archetype of the swashbuckling pirate’s parrot, a figure both humorous and evocative of distant, untamed jungles.

The cage, initially a site of confinement, becomes a testament to the parrot’s ingenuity and persistence. Pythagoras “picked [the latches] with ease / Till we bought a padlock,” a detail that highlights his resourcefulness and resistance to containment. This struggle between freedom and control parallels the tensions between human domestication of animals and the wild instincts that persist within them. The bird’s actions—“knocks his trapeze like a punching bag... outfakes and ripostes the treacherous cluster of measuring spoons”—imbue him with a combative spirit, as though he is constantly negotiating his place within the human world.

The poem’s tone shifts as the speaker reflects on the parrot’s impact on their daily lives. The bird’s voice—“like sawgrass in raucous counterpoint / To after-work traffic, washing machines, or electric razors”—blurs the boundary between natural and artificial sounds. Pythagoras becomes a disruptive force, a reminder of the untamed jungle intruding into the domestic sphere. His vocalizations are not just mimicry but a form of “jangl[ing] back at motors in general,” as if mocking or resisting the mechanized monotony of human life.

A key moment in the poem is the parrot’s protective behavior toward the speaker’s wife: “he challenges me / Each morning to fight for my wife if I dare to come near her.” This anthropomorphism imbues Pythagoras with an almost human-like jealousy or possessiveness, deepening the complexity of his character. The parrot’s “ruffling his neck and hunching, beak open” displays his readiness for confrontation, while his “amber eyes contracting to malevolent points” suggest an emotional intensity that borders on the human.

The speaker acknowledges his role in shaping the bird’s behavior: “I taught him everything / He knows, practically.” This admission reveals a layered relationship between teacher and pupil, where the parrot mirrors not only human words but also emotions and attitudes. The phrase “Fair and foul are near of kin!” captures the duality of the parrot’s mimicry, reflecting both affection and conflict. The bird’s mimicry of the wife’s “soft voice” and his crooning of “I’m a green bird” show his capacity for tenderness and humor, complicating his otherwise combative demeanor.

The poem crescendos with a philosophical musing, tying the parrot’s mimicry to larger questions of existence and understanding: “What then? sang Plato’s ghost, What then?” The speaker’s invocation of Plato and Yeats suggests an existential struggle, where the parrot’s endless mimicry becomes a metaphor for humanity’s search for meaning. The parrot’s relentless repetition—devoid of comprehension yet brimming with life—parallels the human condition of grappling with questions for which answers may never come.

Structurally, the poem alternates between vivid descriptions of Pythagoras’ antics and the speaker’s introspective musings, mirroring the interplay between the bird’s chaotic energy and the human need for reflection. Wagoner’s use of humor, vivid imagery, and philosophical allusions enriches the narrative, creating a multilayered exploration of identity and communication.

In conclusion, “Talking Back” is a vibrant and thought-provoking poem that uses the figure of a parrot to explore the intersections of wildness and domestication, mimicry and originality, and human and animal. Through Pythagoras, Wagoner delves into the complexities of relationships and the search for meaning in an often absurd and noisy world. The parrot’s mimicry becomes a lens through which the speaker confronts questions of love, existence, and the nature of truth, reminding us that the answers we seek may often reside in the unexpected voices around us.

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