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Cadzao Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

Except in color he isn't blue

0"A bluebird comes tenderly up to alight02br
00And turns to the wind to unruffle a plume,02br
00His song so pitched as not to excite02br
00A single flower as yet to bloom.02br
00It is snowing a flake; and he half knew02br
00Winter was only playing possum.02br
01font00Except in color he isn't blue,02br
00But he wouldn't advise a thing to blossom02font00."02br
02br
01sub01sup00('Two Tramps in Mud Time', Robert Frost)02sup02sub02br
00Would you please help me to get what Frost means by the two blue lines?02br
02br
00Cadzao0-
  

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6 Answers
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0 When someone is very cold, the blood retreats from the skin and they look slightly "blue" - in fact there is a saying - 01font00He/she is blue with cold.02font00 So Frost is indicating that it is really really cold, and that the bluebird knows that winter is not yet over, so nothing should start flowering yet or it will be killed by the cold.0-
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0Please tell me more about the line "Except in color he isn't blue." Could you rewrite it in a clearer way?02br
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00Thank you for your help.02br
02br
00Cadzao0-
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0 Although its color isn't blue with/from cold yet (despite its name)02br
00The bluebird wouldn't advise anything/anybody to blossom.02br
02br
00 or:02br
02br
00 It's blue with/from cold in anything but color (let's not forget it's called the bluebird)02br
00 And it wouldn't advise anything/anybody to blossom.0-
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0 Thank you, Marius Hancu. It's quite clear to me now. 0-
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0 blue: 1. the color. The bluebird 01u00is blue02u00 when we take this meaning of 01i00blue02i00. 2. sad, depressed. The bluebird 01u00is not blue02u00 when we take this meaning of 01i00blue02i00.02br
02br
00 Except in the color meaning of "blue", the bluebird isn't "blue", i.e
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0 OK, CJ, if you think that Frost may have been using that meaning of blue ...02br
02br
00 And BTW, for those who don't know it (myself included), this bird 01b00is02b00 blue, it seems02br
0500250hrefhttp://www.bluebird-electric.net/bluebird_pictures.htm
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