Out of the blue poems refer to poems that tackle unexpected topics or themes that seem to come out of nowhere. These poems often startle or surprise readers by introducing unusual ideas without context or background. The term “out of the blue” captures how these poems can catch readers off guard with their sudden shifts in tone, perspective, or subject matter.
Common Features of Out of the Blue Poems
There are a few characteristic features that out of the blue poems tend to share:
- Unexpected topics – Out of the blue poems explore topics that are unanticipated or seem disconnected from the title or opening lines.
- Tonal/perspective shifts – These poems often start in one tonal/emotional space and then rapidly switch gears, viewpoint, or voice.
- Non-linear progression – Rather than building logically, out of the blue poems tend to leap from idea to idea.
- Cryptic language – They sometimes use vague, abstract, or enigmatic language that obscures meaning.
- Open-endedness – Out of the blue poems often resist definitive interpretation, remaining ambiguous.
By defying reader expectations and introducing unconventional twists, out of the blue poems can create feelings of surprise, curiosity, confusion, or intrigue.
Examples of Out of the Blue Poems
Here are some examples of famous poems that incorporate the out of the blue style:
“This is Just to Say” by William Carlos Williams
This imagist poem has an ordinary setup, describing someone eating plums from the icebox. But then it takes a sudden turn by revealing the speaker as the one who ate the plums, apologizing to an unseen “you” in a completely unexpected confession.
“The Emperor of Ice-Cream” by Wallace Stevens
With no background, this poem leaps right into vivid but unexplained images of ice cream, flowers, and a dead woman with a “horny feet.” The juxtaposition of death and sensuous imagery creates an eccentric, jarring collage.
“The Red Wheelbarrow” by William Carlos Williams
This brief poem starts by simply describing a wheelbarrow. But it takes an unusual turn when it presents the wheelbarrow as “so much depends upon” it, elevating this ordinary object without explaining why it’s so meaningful.
“This is Just to Say” by William Carlos Williams
| Line | Analysis |
|---|---|
| I have eaten | The speaker confesses to eating something that didn’t belong to him. |
| the plums | Plums were the food the speaker ate. |
| that were in | The plums were stored somewhere before the speaker took them. |
| the icebox | The plums were specifically stored in an icebox, likely to be preserved. |
This analysis shows how the poem takes an unexpected turn in the first line by having the speaker confess to eating something that does not belong to him, catching the reader off guard.
Use of Out of the Blue Style
Out of the blue poems can utilize this sudden, surprise style for different effects:
- Disorient the reader – By subverting expectations, these poems can vividly convey disorder or confusion.
- Convey absurdity – The non-sequiturs in out of the blue poems can highlight life’s absurdities.
- Captivate the reader – The unpredictability can engage readers seeking something new.
- Communicate complexity – The lack of linear logic mirrors the complexity of emotions and experiences.
- Provoke deeper thought – Resisting simple interpretations forces readers to think more deeply.
The out of the blue style is bold and avant-garde. It rejects conventional rules of coherence in favor of radical expressions of imagination and emotion.
Origins and History
The out of the blue style has its origins in modernist poetry of the early 20th century. Here is a brief overview of the history:
- Early 20th century – Modernist poets like T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, Wallace Stevens, and Marianne Moore began experimenting with nonlinear, obscure, and fragmented poetry that subverted expectations.
- 1910s-1930s – Surrealist poetry pushed this further with irrational juxtapositions meant to tap the unconscious mind.
- 1930s-1950s – Abstract poetry became even more non-representational. Poets like Gertrude Stein created opaque, esoteric poems.
- 1950s – The rise of postmodernism continued the trend toward discontinuous, experimental poetry that resisted interpretation.
- 1960s-today – Out of the blue techniques have influenced poetry to this day, including slam poetry.
While not a formal movement, the out of the blue style remains an important poetic technique within modern and contemporary poetry.
Famous Out of the Blue Poems
Here is a closer look at some famous out of the blue poems from key poets:
“The Waste Land” by T.S. Eliot
This touchstone modernist poem is a collage of fragmentary vignettes involving figures from mythology and literature. It jumps wildly between settings, speakers, and images, evoking the chaos of post-war Europe.
“Lobster Quadrille” by Gertrude Stein
This poem features absurdist, nonlinear dialogue between a lobster and mushroom that culminates with them dancing a quadrille dance. It deconstructs meaning through repetition and illogical symbolism.
“Junk Mail” by John Ashbery
This postmodern poem starts by describing mundane junk mail and then veers into surreal musings about identity, consumer culture, and imagining fantastic scenarios.
“Incident” by Countee Cullen
This poem abruptly shifts halfway through from idyllic nature imagery to the racist murder of a black child. The sudden tonal shift is deeply jarring and impactful.
Key Out of the Blue Poets
While not all their poems used the out of the blue style, these poets all famously experimented with elements of unexpected, nonlinear, and enigmatic poetry:
- T.S. Eliot – Key modernist poet who shattered conventions with fractured poems like “The Waste Land.”
- Ezra Pound – Major modernist poet and key founder of imagism, which emphasized precise images over narrative.
- Marianne Moore – Modernist poet who used unconventional metaphors and wrote elegant poems on odd topics.
- Gertrude Stein – Avant-garde poet who pioneered abstract, nonlinear poetry often using repetition and obscure language.
- e.e. cummings – Known for his avant-garde style, cummings broke rules through typographic arrangements and lack of punctuation and grammar.
- John Ashbery – Postmodern poet with an improvisational style often marked by strange shifts between imagery and thought.
Key Characteristics and Techniques
Some key characteristics and techniques used in out of the blue poetry include:
- Unexpected pivots – Sudden, jarring shifts in topic, tone, voice, imagery, setting, etc.
- Fractured syntax – Disjointed, incomplete, or nonlinear sentences and phrases.
- Unexplained imagery – Vivid images that are left largely unexplored or unconnected to a broader narrative or idea.
- Non-sequiturs – Lack of clear logical or symbolic connections between images. The poem leaps unpredictably.
- Concrete language – Specific sensory details (like in imagism) rather than generalizations or abstractions.
- Prose sentences – Longer sentence structures more characteristic of prose than lineated poetry.
- Collage – The assemblage of disparate fragments to create an avant-garde whole.
These techniques break from conventional poetry to create a destabilized reading experience and expansive imaginative space.
Conclusion
Out of the blue poetry offers readers a thrilling, disruptive experience by subverting expectations. These poems resist neat interpretations, unfolding in unpredictable ways that push boundaries and capture complex emotions. By breaking rules, out of the blue poetry expands possibilities for meaning-making and awakens readers to daring new visions.