#overanalyzing sfth

[itsm0onshine]

oh ok so in ballet on the battlefield alexa is fascinates by this fast bird by her window

gonna write bullet points because im tired (its like 1 am)

-standing at the window looking out -> the concept of freedom is visible to her, sure, but not something she could actively take part in. the walls are like madame romanoff

-"I love fast birds" -> "i love the concept of freedom but im contained"

-"i wish i was a fast bird" -> "i wish i was free"

-"byirds.. i wish i knew how to say words" -> "i wish i could grapple with this concept of freedom but it's so foreign to me"

-escapes through the window -> the trip to germany was her glimpse at freedom and her ability to make her own choices/stand on her own (literally becoming taller) and it leads to her total escape through this literal window of opportunity

-holding the bird with Janusch -> theyre together, on the other side on the window, both holding the bird and watching it fly away. theyre free of their guardians' expectations and are finally free (i mean theyre like. 6/7 but whatever.)

[cookie-0wo]

We Love Poetry Analysis

- the poem is what lets them express their thoughts out loud, not thinking of the consequences as they don't dig too deep into these words.

- franklin is afraid to show his poems to percy because he sees it as a vulnerable and sacred act. Percy is not afraid to read his own poems out loud because they don't truly come from his heart

- venetia and lanessas father restricts them to read and write. venetia is even more restricted as her arm is broken from an accident, yet that doesn't stop her father for putting this weight on her.

- venetia is told not to read the music but to hear it and copy. she's not allowed to understand and train, but to mimic the sound and the action

- franklin makes sure that he does not see himself equal to percy, making sure to bring himself down. though percy doesn't care about status, he cares deeply about franklin

- love is something that runs deep in poems as Franklin has said. it's a drive that helps people change, for it can run from inside yourself or from others. percy tries to take franklin's poems because he never found love in his own creations, not even from within him.

- how venetia and lanessa lean on each other for support, they have escaped from their home and went to the reading because they had each other.

- venetia calling percy and franklin's love as art because it is moving and encouraging and it comes from deep within the heart.

- this could be about love? Feeling trapped. and love in any way, shape or form could help us understand more about ourselves

[itsm0onshine]

ok so im religious but not christian so. take this with a teaspoon of salt maybe

so Roland's phrases that he repeats in most situations are either "BRING IT ON!" or "Test me, Lord"

and you know. thats so interesting to me. Religion lesson! Abraham (the guy that "founded" monotheism) was tested by God 10 times (probably more, but these ten are part of a saga). Moses, another famous leader, was also consistently tested. idk enough about christianity to talk about the new testemant or The Better Book™️, as the church of the sunset dawn has. but i think his reaction to every hardship being "oh this is a test from the lord!" is such a good potrayal of the way religious children are taught about their religions growing up. "everything is done for a reason!" type stuff, yknow? I have friends that genuinely, whenever something goes wrong, they think "ah, this is from God so that something worse doesnt happen later" which. im not gonna judge rhem for right now

I think having the "lord" in his head has actually amplified this feeling for Roland as the voice continuously tells him to be violent to others as a way to "cleanse" them, so why shouldnt these problems that hes facing be a way of cleansing him? and if anything, its his way to peove himself

anyway yeah. religious trauma. i just think he's neat

[itsm0onshine]

ok so the creature was a manifestation of roland's power specifically, right?, it credits him, thanks him for needing to be healed and allowing it to form; its a projection

SO i think its absolutely wonderful that the last thing that kevin says to it is "fucking shut up" because like. Roland had always listened to it without a second thought. he punched his brother in the throat. it told him to punish the sinners and gave him a shit ton of religious trauma. so yes, fucking shut up and leave roland alone and allow him more free will

but also. kevin. his whole schtick is being loud and musical against his will. i think he's kinda.. projecting? in a way? he's constantly shameful bc of his curse, and he sees this amalgamation of curses and just please be quiet, kevin creature. it's embarrassing. i think he was kinda taking that and turning it outwards. butttt on the other hand, music makes him so happy and his friends turn to him with awe and he sees music as beautiful and a form of connection so maybe. when he tells it to shut up he means "you dont have a place here. you dont understand what it means to love and be loved, and you dont have the ability to learn."

[itsm0onshine]

rapid-fire sfth bird symbolism (not including poe)

We buried the wrong guy

-im personally a big fan of birds representing freedom, and i think the shooting of the bird in the beginning symbolizes how theyve gotten tangled up in this situation and they cant just go back to their old lives

The game of truth and tea

-"this dead swan statue used to be my husband" or something

-swans are usually depicted as graceful birds so i think its about how fucked up the logic is of the maze that a person?? i assume became an elegant bird before becoming a statue (i dont know what happened and i assume thats the point)

-THE POINT IS. PERSON GOT THE LABYRINTH'S CURSE. BECAME GRACEFUL BIRD. MAZE TURNED IT TO STONE BC GRACE HAS NO PLACE THERE

Moist and Magical

- that speckled pigeon?? represents danger, kinda like an alarm that the witch-finder general is around

-maybeee like. either nature trying to warn Maureen or her familiar that scouts idk

the off-season

-pheasants actually represent self-expression (apparently)! and the whole play is about unmasking so i think John starting off the play by calling out for them is symbolizing how he currently is how he should be, but he still has to find himself. he's also doing it FOR the british guys, showing theyll change him or something i dont fucking know guys theyre just BIRDS

[cookie-0wo]

Jazz vampires could symbolize generational trauma maybe. hmmm...

[itsm0onshine]

i love the parallel between one of Franklin's first poems being "there was a gentleman of great class / who has a wonderful ass" to the collab one being "he met a nice chap / gave his ass a slap" and i think its wonderful

[itsm0onshine]

im obsessed with Arthur and Benjamin

they both experienced full lifetimes stuck in a dream logic world, but they were both transported back to children's bodies and that must feel so disorienting

with arthur though, you can see he didnt mentally develop the same way a different 23/35(?) year old wouldve, and he continued calling his mum "mummy", and he kinda still talked like a child because the two adults he ended up growing up with werent human enough to like,, teach him, i guess, how to adult. but he still experienced a lifetime that he now has to repeat (though he doesnt remember much, does he?)

Benjamin, being played by sam russell, does act more grown up from the second he gets on the platform. he already has access to money and knows how to use it, he SOMEHOW knows the phone number of the british transport police (im not british but i assume its not a widely known number??), and he overall just treats the train the way an adult would? he's given the job of an adult man. but he's still forced to relive a childhood with 400 other new memories

AND he probably has even worse identity issues when you consider nobody knows his name

i think itd suck if they both retained any memories from their weird worlds