Five Flights Up

When it’s “[s]till dark” (Line 1), the dog and bird inquire about something that the speaker doesn’t specify; then “day itself” (Line 9) answers the supposed questions, which indicates day is a symbol for knowledge. The night pushes the dog and the bird to seek answers, and, once it’s light, day supplies the explanations “directly” and “simply” (Line 8), turning day into a vessel of wisdom.

Linking knowledge to light and day goes back to Ancient Greece, when Socrates and his student Plato articulated their beliefs that light equaled truth and reality while darkness represented distortion and misperceptions. In “Five Flights Up,” the owner seems to represent distortion. The owner believes they know the dog since they tell him, “You ought to be ashamed!” (Line 17). Yet the owner is ignorant, as the speaker reveals, “Obviously, he has no sense of shame” (Line 21). Thus, the bird and dog communicate with day, which can accurately answer “everything” (Line 22) since day symbolizes genuine knowledge, while the owner represents a mix of arrogance and obtuseness.

Aside from symbolizing a lack of wisdom, the owner can symbolize aggression. The owner asserts themself in the poem. Their voice “arises” and is “stern” (Line 16).