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Musical Metamorphosis: First Fight, Then Fiddle

Explore the poetic journey in Gwendolyn Brooks' "First Fight, Then Fiddle" as it delves into the dichotomy of conflict and artistry, analyzing the structure, form, and meaning of the poem. Unravel the symbolism behind the battle and music, deciphering the powerful messages embedded within the verses of this poignant literary piece.

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Musical Metamorphosis: First Fight, Then Fiddle

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  1. Poetic Form Gwendolin Brooks “First Fight, Then Fiddle” (898) Shuttleworth, Ciara. “Sestina” (881) Cummings, E. E. “l(a” (883)

  2. Poetic Forms

  3. First Fight. Then Fiddle. First fight. Then fiddle. Plythe slipping string A With feathery sorcery; muzzle the note B With hurting love; the music that they wrote B Bewitch, bewilder. Qualify to sing A Threadwise. Devise no salt, no hempenthing A For the dear instrument to bear. Devote B The bow to silks and honey. Be remote B A while from malice and from murdering. A But first to arms, to armor. Carry hateC In front of you and harmony behind. D Be deaf to music and to beauty blind. D Win war. Rise bloody, maybe not too late C For having first to civilize a space E Wherein to play your violin with grace. E

  4. Muzzle & Thread/Hemp

  5. The music that they wrote? Image source

  6. “First Fight, Then Fiddle” Questions • Overall Meaning & Structure: What do it mean: “first fight, then fiddle”? What does “fight” & “fiddle” mean respectively? Why does the poem do it the other way around (reversing the order)? Is either completely rejected? • Form: Petrarchan sonnet –effects (turn?) • Rhyme: masculine rhyme, feminine rhyme • Rhythm & meter: iambic pentameter • Sound: alliteration • Enjambment vs. short lines Gwendolyn Brooks (1917 ~2000; Chicago) Poem published in 1949

  7. “First Fight, Then Fiddle”: Fiddle • sense – plays the music which is sweet, melodious and mesmerizing (feathery sorcery, bewitch, bewilder), • filled with repressed emotions, • detached from cruel reality (malice and murdering) • but not sharp-sounding, coarse but lively tunes. • sound – repetition of melodious & nasal sounds such as [m], [ing], [ind], [sl]; • use of enjambment Why not? Other’s music.

  8. “First Fight, Then Fiddle”: Fight • sense – [But] One must go to war (arms and armor—to fight and protect oneself), carrying hate in front and harmony behind (as support) purpose: -- “to civilize a space” where playing music is possible • sound –short one-syllable words • use of short imperatives: “win war. Rise bloody.” Why not? Other’s music.

  9. You Used To Love Me well. Well, you— me— Used Love to . . . to . . . well . . . love. You Used me. Me, too, used . . . well. . . you. Love, love me. You, Too Well used, used Love well. Me, too. You! You Used to Love me well.

  10. 2 speakers A. You Used to Love me well.

  11. Sestina Sestina: a fixed verse form consisting of six stanzas of six lines each, normally followed by a three-line envoi. (Wikipedia) Source: Wikipedia

  12. Sestina: Questions • 1. How many speakers are there in this poem? When does one stop speaking and another begin? • 2. What is the role of punctuation in “Sestina”? Can you describe the tones of each stanza?

  13. l(a l(a le af fa ll s) one l iness

  14. l(a: Questions • What does the poem mean and how are the meanings conveyed through the image, the words and the shape of the poem? • “A leaf falls. Loneliness.” Why is this one not a poem, but “l(a” is? Is there meter or rhythm in the poem?

  15. l(a: loneliness=singleness • the image = a leaf • the words = la, le, fa, af, ll (words falling and reversing), i-ness, I • the shape of the poem = “l” • Regularity (meter) in the falling and multiple meanings of the characters.

  16. References • Owens, Clarke W. “Brooks's First Fight. Then Fiddle.” The Explicator 52.4 (Summer 1994): 240.

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