Self- Pity by DH Lawrence - your thoughts

[ebbo69]

I quote "I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
without ever having felt sorry for itself"

I have so many thoughts about this poem, which really touchs me, but I am still unsure of its meaning, would any like to cast there thoughts, please. Would like to know what others think.

Baz

[mono]

I have always loved this poem, too, Baz, from one of my favorite poets. :nod:

I never saw a wild thing
sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
without ever having felt sorry for itself.
D.H. Lawrence's thought, I admit, seems very abstract and often intuitive for many readers, and this poem well demonstrates it, as does many of his novels and essays. Writing at the brink of psychology's biggest breakthrough in the world of thought, ideas of emotions, human motives, intuition, reason, and behavior greatly interested him, as one could especially find in his essays.
In "Self-Pity," I think, Lawrence emphasizes that humans, of all animals, have the greatest ability of self pity, perhaps more than most animals. To me, he also communicates that a human can express more self-pity, self-loathing, and low self-esteem in seemingly small occurrences (like failing a class in school, for example), as opposed to other animals (like a small bird) who live much shorter lives, and may not have an equal capacity of thought (science and opinion really debate this fact, however).
Thanks for sharing the poem - beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!

[Tigerjaw]

I know this is an old thread, but I came across this poem again recently and have been thinking about it. - - The poem reminds me of how animals live in each moment. They deal with what Is. - - This is very unlike human beings who often (perhaps most of the time?) live in their minds - constantly fretting about what's coming next or what already took place. - - My Mom has a little black female minature poodle. The dog was attacked by a pit bull a few years ago. We took her to the vet, but the prognosis was bleak. The vet didn't think the dog would make it through the night, but took the dog to her home overnight so that she could watch over her. To the vets absolute wonder, the little poodle was up the next day wagging her tail, eating, and moving about. If the same thing had happened to a person (probably equivalent in scale to being attacked by a grizzly bear) they wouldn't have lived or very likely wouldn't have displayed such spirit ~ as if it were no big deal at all. - - -

[Nick Rubashov]

Thank you for your input Tigerjaw, I was thinking along the same lines when I read the poem. It reminds me of a passage from Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner...


Like one who, on a lonely road,
Doth walk in fear and dread,
And, having once turned round, walks on,
And turns no mare his head;
Because he knows a frightful fiend
Doth close behind him tread

Humans tend to always look behind them; our past sins and failures prevent us from living in the moment as animals do because we're always looking back at life, or dreading looking back because of what is there.

[Janine]

Hi Everyone! Glad this thread is started up, again. This is one of my favorite poems. I am an avid fan of Lawrence - so far I have read three full biographies and know a little about his life, which sheds light on all he wrote and the way he thought. I hope to add some words on this poem in particular. I am just a little too busy right this moment, but I will come back to it later tonight after I think of how to write it down. There have been some very good comments so far, which I am in agreement with. I have some things to add.

I wanted to announce that Virgil and I are trying to actively get a discussion going about Lawrence's short stories on the thread of the same name. So far it has just been the two of us 'devotees' discussing the first story "Things". Anyone interested? The short stories usually about 10 pgs long or less and won't take up a great deal of your time reading, and they are really great. We are picking one loosely during the month or a couple of weeks time - not a structured thread in any way - whenever we feel the last discussion has played itself out we will pick another story. There are many to choose from. I picked the first story and the second story, which Virgil has chosen, can be read right on this site - Virgil posted the link in the thread. The discussions will be very interesting and I hope some of you will join in. You will learn much about Lawrence by reading these stories and coming into the discussion group. He was a great author and very industrious in his writings. He wrote tons of material in his short life. His prose is very much like his poetry. I know you will benefit.

I don't believe that self-pity was a word in Lawrence's vocabulary. He was a very industrious and productive author. He was ill most of his life and never stopped to feel sorry for himself. I don't think he would have had time to do so and I think if he had he would have simply died. He said if he could not keep working he would die. No doubt this is what did keep the man alive. He nearly died so many times and finally TB took his life in his mid 40's. The poem is a very beautiful poem and as some people have pointed out animals do now waste time feeling sorry for themselves. They usually spring back from an illness amazingly well and have much fortitude. I think he was comparing man with animal and the animal instincts in man to overcome injury or hurt, or accept death - not to feel sorry for himself - but rather exist with natural strength of survival. Also, Lawrence felt the natural progression of life into death, as is described in the poem, with the "bird falling frozen dead from the bough". It is a simple slipping away of physical life and going into the next phase - death.

[Virgil]

Yes, I remember he hating the thought of self-pity.

[Marijn]

For me its a very strong poem: You might expect - as is most the case - the poem deepening/explaining the title, instead of opposing it! And so giving his opinion about this human emotion, this particulary one loathing.

In the first verse he reaches out to the wild things - barbaric one might say. But this is further explained in the second verse in something so close and vulnerable: a small bird... When this small creature dies, though not by old age but by a natural condition, even then it comes unnaturally to it to pity itself!



I just recently came across this poem, but these few words touched me immediatly. And, if I'm not misstaken, the impact of this poem should be bigger considering the time it was written down, just after WW1 if I'm correct, in a time when this kind of criticism was more a social "not-done" then it is nowadays. Remember that some of his work was not allowed to be publiced in one form or oneother(Lady Chatterley's Lover for instance).

[shogunal]

I instantly fell in love with this poem the first time I heard it. It really kind of changed my life. the poem gave me a bit of comfort when my cat died/was murdered (pit bull). I find the poem most applicable to our attitudes towards death. Not just towards death, but also towards the manner in which we die. My cat was horribly mangled, but he lived until the vet put him to sleep. Anyway, when we were with him he was purring happily. When we imagine a loved one or pet dying we imagine suffering and feel pity. suffering is more than just pain, it's also the sufferer's response to pain and that is dictated by attitude about what has happened/may happen. My cat was torn, crushed, mangled and yet purred calmly as we comforted him. He wasn't suffering. The bird in the poem dies nobly, with dignity. I think Lawrence is trying to tell us how to approach our own death. You can choose or succumb to some emotional reaction. If you choose, you can choose to be alive until you are dead.

[CarolynT]

I love this poem...thanks for posting it. I have a sappy bird story...

We have a swiss chalet house...lots of glass on one side...sometimes birds fly into it at certain times of the year/times of the day...One winter, one of the coldest, windiest winter days I remember, a bird flew into the glass. He was lying in the snow, alive but injured. I put him in a shoebox with a towel and created a windscreen for him with another box. He was there overnight and I hoped he made it. The next morning, a bright sunny day, I went to check on him and he stood up and fly to the tree next to our deck. He sat in a low branch and his head wobbled a bit, then he sang a song as beautiful as any I'd heard by a songbird and then he flew off. I never cried at a bird's song before then. Did, though.

Anyway. Love that poem. I should remember it more often.

Happy Valentines Day.

[Janine]

I love this poem...thanks for posting it. I have a sappy bird story...

We have a swiss chalet house...lots of glass on one side...sometimes birds fly into it at certain times of the year/times of the day...One winter, one of the coldest, windiest winter days I remember, a bird flew into the glass. He was lying in the snow, alive but injured. I put him in a shoebox with a towel and created a windscreen for him with another box. He was there overnight and I hoped he made it. The next morning, a bright sunny day, I went to check on him and he stood up and fly to the tree next to our deck. He sat in a low branch and his head wobbled a bit, then he sang a song as beautiful as any I'd heard by a songbird and then he flew off. I never cried at a bird's song before then. Did, though.


Anyway. Love that poem. I should remember it more often.

Hi CarolynT, This is a beautiful story. Thanks for sharing it with us. I know about birds flying into windows. We have one particular window, where this often happens...I always feel so badly, but most times they get stunned and off they fly, like nothing has happened to them. I wonder if they get a headache.;)
Yes, this quote is really wonderful. I use it for my signature, because to me, it is so true. Another poem you might read of Lawrence's is "Baby Tortoise" - there is a thread on Lit Net a number of months back where we discussed this fine poem. This poem is on the same sort of theme of the persistence and the will for survival of the new-born baby tortoise. I think you will like it very much. I feel it and this quote above directly relate to the fact that Lawrence truly never felt sorry for himself or wallowed in self-pity and he had many reasons to do so; for one he lived his practically his entire life with weak and tubercular lungs. He dies quite young but worked steadily up until his last days.

Happy Valentines Day, a few days late, to you also!

[maxdesander]

They say, that the Human is the only creature which is aware of its own mortality.
Regret is another, higher order emotion peculiar to us; regret over things we have done, or didn't do.
I think D.H.L. envied the little bird its lack of these feelings, - which fill us with anguish, self loathing and self pity, sometimes ...

[Janine]

They say, that the Human is the only creature which is aware of its own mortality.
Regret is another, higher order emotion peculiar to us; regret over things we have done, or didn't do.
I think D.H.L. envied the little bird its lack of these feelings, - which fill us with anguish, self loathing and self pity, sometimes ...

Hi maxdesander,

That sounds about right and welcome to Lit Net! I see you are new. We have a monthly discussion on one of Lawrence's short stories; soon we will choose another one. Currently we are discussing "The Witch a la Mode" which has been very good so far. We are nearly done and will change stories soon, if you care to join in. New faces are always welcome sights. Just look for the Lawrence short story thread. Hope to see you there. J

[ericson1st]

Hi...
Nice discussion guys.... and I intend to give my opinion about this Poem.

I catch two massages from DH Lawrence’s poem “Self-pity”. First, this poem shows about the weakness. Second, this poem shows about the opposite of self-pity, it is a self-arrogant. Both interpretations emphasize to human behavior.


Denotation & Connotation that support to my interpretations, are; first, the word “sorry”. Sorry is a feeling sad or sympathetic (oxford dictionary). This feeling relate to a person who have done a mistake (denotation) and have connotations weakness or powerless, in this poem we got two words of “sorry”, it means the opposite of weakness (careless or arrogant), a person who always do wrong and never learn from his/her failure. So, we can see that this poem has two meanings. Second, the phrase “wild thing”. Wild-thing means something that happened in unusual condition or out of our thought (denotation), it can be negative or positive depend on our perception. The connotations are a dreams or may be an expectation. A person who never expect a wild-thing occur in their life is a cold-humankind (a weak person), but the opposite, a person who always expect a wild-thing occur in their life is an arrogant-humankind (full of hatred or haughty-humankind). Third, the phrase “little bird”. Little bird is a bird which has small size. The connotation is something refers to something that is powerless or if we try to relate to our thinking, small bird is a person who may not have an equal capacity of thought (“a small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough”). Without feel care to the environment-around a small bird will drop a frozen dead from its good position.

Thank you
Ericson1st

[Witiku]

I found this poem in a book of notes I kept when recovering from a stroke while trying to remember things... It must have captured me as I am not a reader of poetry or books for that matter, let alone inclined to note a poem.. I did read a few sci-fi novels over the years and I recall reading books for High Skool..

So if you want the opinion of a non-literary [SIC] observer..

I think the poem captures an observation that partly defines what it it to be human. This strikes at the core of who any reader is. Its a great observation on piece of reality that skirts an area people are not generally conscious of. I put it up there with 'I think, therefore I am.'

What an excellent few lines Self Pity is.

Best,
T

[GreenerGrass]

I quote "I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
without ever having felt sorry for itself"

I have so many thoughts about this poem, which really touchs me, but I am still unsure of its meaning, would any like to cast there thoughts, please. Would like to know what others think.

Baz
I know this is an belated reply, but personally

" I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
without ever having felt sorry for itself."Self-pity, by D. H. LAWRENCE.

It took some time for myself to really find what I call "true meaning". That is, as a small bird never feels sorry for itself even when falling dead, whereas many of us everyday use self pitty as a crutch. Depression and holding onto the things in our lives that cause our self pitty and depression to rule over what happiness we could have with the time we have been given on this earth, such as a small bird who's life is a small given one, he will use everyday as given to full fill as created. We were created as well, but have choices to wake up and give into pitty, or seek the sunny side of life and put on a smile and battle with a caring heart. Someone no matter what trials we go through is going through worse, and maybe handling the circumstace far better in that trial than choosing to give into pitty, making you feel worse.

Well, that's what I've been given in those words in the poem. Simple words, but powerful submeaning.

[PoeticPractice]

I never saw a wild thing
sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
without ever having felt sorry for itself.

I agree wholeheartedly with the general opinion of this forum concerning the beauty of this poem. It voices a simple idea that is articulated with simple words, and yet it generates the capacity for complex discussion and diverse opinion. Although I may not agree entirely with the mode of argument the poem presents, I will never discredit the magnificence of this composition.

To begin my analysis, and assuming the above is how the poem was published, when I take the scansion of it under consideration, I find a few instances that are remarkable. In combination, concerning Lawrence's use of enjambment; the opening line finishes with 'wild thing', but completes the sentence on the next line. I believe this was done for a few reasons:

(1) The last words are 'wild thing' before the reader must pause momentarily to scan to the next line in the poem. I believe Lawrence intended this pause to allow for the manifestation of an image to come to the fore in the mind of the reader, whatever 'wild thing' their imagination would entertain in that moment. As a poet, he could have used any words to describe his idea, but the connotation of the words 'wild thing', (using the adjective: "wild", and the ambiguous object: "thing"), in all probability manifest an image that is fear-inspiring, or in other words has a tendency toward being a frightful creature of the unknown. However, even if this "frightful" image does not come to the mind of a first-time reader, I am quite sure the 'wild-thing' coming to mind still is a serious creature that contrasts the sentiment of the following line.

(2) The next line could be read as entirely spondaic, and helps to emphasize the meaning of the poem. The words’ syllables do not have to be read as spondees – I personally believe that the line, in context with reading the rest of the poem, should be read as: SOR-RY / FOR it / SELF. But for the most part, they are ictus. As I mentioned above, the setup of the image of the "wild-thing" in the audience's mind is reduced somewhat after imagining it feeling sorry for itself. I personally picture a great, frightful bear moping around feeling sorry for itself, and it is an absolutely ridiculous image. This mental comparison aids greatly to emphasize D.H. Lawrence's theme of the poem – to ridicule the human state of self-pity, by depicting self-pity in such a way so that the reader realizes, or gets an impression of, its futility.

Furthermore, the matter-of-factness of the poem lends far more to the meaning than what elaboration could have achieved. In argument, stating a conclusion matter-of-factly bolsters its authority. This is especially obvious if you compare stating an argument confidently to stating something you seem unsure of – if both arguments are plausible enough, an audience will, in the moment, tend to believe the more confident statement, as if confidence made a difference in rationality. As if a human being feeling sorry for themselves is as ridiculous as the aforementioned image of a wild thing feeling sorry for itself.

I believe the poem’s simplicity makes it far more complete. It is a simple statement about an aspect of our humanity that Lawrence apparently perceived as somewhat flawed. At the very least, he is obviously comparing the human phenomenon of self-pity to the lack thereof in creatures of the wild. It is the comparison of the human being to things of the wild that I have somewhat of a problem with, for we could also write poems, for example, about how we humans never saw another human being kill and eat its young – or at least, a sane human being – and various criticisms of a similar nature, comparing the wild to a human being. The point I am making, is that although we might perceive that a wild thing lacks self-pity, using this as a measure to criticize the element of self-pity in the human spirit is relatively ineffective, because you cannot use a single aspect of another flawed (and I use “flawed” as defined from the perspective of the human cognition) means of survival as a mode of criticism. I mean, of course you can use it as a mode of criticism, but in this case, considering that (I dare proclaim) nothing else of the wild can compare to the evolutions humanity has undergone since the dawn of our creation, and therefore our respective environments are entirely different on a variety of levels, I become skeptical of the argument’s usefulness. So yes, although a wild thing may never feel sorry for itself, it also is not the optimal tool to use in deconstructing human self-pity.

In contrast however, I believe self-pity has its use and I also believe D.H. Lawrence knew this. An individual might encounter self-pity in their lifetime, and the act of that individual becoming cognizant of the pathetic nature of this state of being lends to their capacity to not only transcend it, but to better themselves in the process. Therefore, a poem like “Self-Pity”, read in its matter-of-fact, to the point style, would be a perfect tool to help an individual with realizing the pathetic nature of their self-pity. He ends two lines in a four line poem with the words “sorry for itself”, which helps to illustrate that the focus of the poem is on feeling sorry for oneself, or getting past feeling sorry for oneself, and therefore the means of overcoming self-pity becomes far less significant than the fact that it must be overcome. That is, the point of the poem focuses on overcoming self-pity, and less on how we should do so.

I have commented all along on the beauty of the poem’s simplicity, and I believe it should be interpreted as simply: a mere statement to help the self-piteous transcend their pitiful state. I know this poem has helped me in the past, and I appreciate it, Mr. D.H. Lawrence! The craftsmanship of this poetry is spectacular and beautifully executed. It is one of my favorite poems to date, despite the small criticism I have written of its logic. Someone else, open my argument up for me! What I have written here I would never submit as a formal essay. My opinions are quick and personal, which I have admittedly spent negligible time in researching. But what do you think?

[Virgil]

Nice analysis Poetic Practice. I enjoyed reading it. Welcome to Lit Net. :)

[fishinRainbows]

New loss brings me to this old thread. On my quest for solace, I latch on to this poem. Why? Does it force me (us) to recognize that a yearn for comfort points to a state of self-pity? Is comfort lasting if self-pity stalks us? Self-awareness.....this tool divines the pool self-pity. A noble human characteristic ferrets out a pathetic one. Interesting.

I interpret "wild thing" to mean, any living creature of nature, other than human; a butterfly as well as a grizzly. Thereby a rather elegant delineation of the capacity of human and non. The message I glean? We have the means to see our flaws, our destructive tendencies. Mimic nature at its finest, living in the here, the now; for short or long. Nature is ever changing. Perhaps self-pity is a form of arrogance.

[adri]

This quote has always intrigued me. I'm not very well versed on literature but, I do feel that if we all simply lived as the beings whom we are, along side with other living beathing beings, we would be able to understand the frailties of life. No one ever knows what's going to happen from one minute to the next, why fear the next breath we take. We should all embrace it . Never know when
your time is up.

[pamatt]

I don't really know if this is appropriate, but I would like to quote here Emily Dickinson's

Hope

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

I feel that an opposition is raised here, among "hope" and "being sorry for *self" which I look forward to elaborate

[staceyvegas]

I feel that everyone who posted understands the poem, but that's the beauty of poetry, and art in general, everyone can have their own interpretation, and everyone would be correct.

The first time I read this poem the meaning seemed to hit me with a blow to the face. It's simple, it all lied in one word, the word 'wild'. After reading it a few more times and giving it deeper thought I realized this wasn't the case, and that, as with all good literature, there's a reason for everything, every word, every comma, every capital. As I was saying, I believe that Lawrence is using the word 'wild' to call self-pity a human construction. I then thought "Well, when do I feel sorry for myself?" the answer was simple, when I do not have something that society tells me I should. This brought new light upon self-pity, it made me wonder if self-pity was caused by the restraints of society and in order to truly be free (as birds generally symbolize freedom) one must be able to shed those constraints.

I then moved on to the meaning of the words in the third line, but all my conclusions from/about this line have already been posted, so I need not inflict upon you the effort of rereading previously stated information.

[hawkel13]

If I may add a brief insight to this very rich discussion--a quote (perhaps not the ideal one) from Marcus Aurelius: "Observe what thy nature requires, so far as thou art governed by nature only: then do it and accept it, if thy nature, so far as thou art a living being, shall not be made worse by it." Meditations--Book X. As others have stated in a far more thorough and elegant fashion, Lawrence's reflection brings us to look upon life in its simplicity. We are mere beings, we act upon our instincts and our abilities, which we apply to the furtherance of our lives insofar as this is feasible. And then, when we ultimately confront something insurmountable our efforts are stifled and defeated. Throughout our trials and tribulations there is never reason or cause to dwell on so natural a thing.

[Paul Swan]

I quote "I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
without ever having felt sorry for itself"

I have so many thoughts about this poem, which really touchs me, but I am still unsure of its meaning, would any like to cast there thoughts, please. Would like to know what others think.

Baz

Hi Baz;

I first heard this poem on the movie "GI Jane" and was so moved by it, I referred to it often amongst others whom share my love of words...

As one of the previous persons had mentioned, I believe Mr Lawrence is telling us to live and enjoy this, the present moment and not concern ourselves with what is inevitable...

A small bird, lives a simple life... wakes up early; searchers for it's food; sings, plays and gets to fly; mates; nurtures it's young and eventually dies...

It is my personal belief that we can learn a lot from our fellow creatures (God's creatures as I call them!)

That is not to say, we don't plan and do what human beings do.... just lighten up, live life and enjoy THIS .... the moment ...

Paul Swan

[ennison]

Ah Lawrence. Trains entering tunnels. Sweaty men on sweatier horses. All that anger! Soo not very subtle. And always complaining about something. If it wasn't poorly made chairs it was the lack of passion in women. The first half of "Sons and Lovers" is very good. The next part is too whiny.

[notdeep]

simply put, think it means we think too much, live strong, live free..with no regrets!!!!

[notdeep]

and this is my favourite poem,,i appreciate the fact u like it