Conference of the Birds

Conference of the Birds Analysis

In Conference of the birds, by Farid ud-Din Attar, the birds debate on who should go and who should stay based on their own unique personalities and traits and what they believe in individually.  This whole poem is actually symbolic of what prevents a man from reaching enlightenment as the birds display very human traits in their negligence to even embark on the journey to the Simorgh.

For example the Parrot only seeks immortality instead of truth of the way, the owl is a treasure seeking fool, and the nightingale believes that painless love is the essence of life. This is basically showing the hindrances of humans reaching enlightenment through the usage of birds.

It is actually very cool to see that the author compares characteristics of the actual birds themselves and then adds in human traits that seem to match the bird itself. The Parrot seeks immortality because it wants everyone to see how beautiful it is. The Owl has very big eyes which gives it a look of greed. The Nightingale is seen as a bird of romance in many other poems in the past, most likely because of its beautiful singing, so of course it would be personified as a bird that only cares about love.

The one who reaches enlightenment is the true king of the birds.