Get out the microscope, because we’re going through this poem line-by-line.
Section VIII
I know noble accents
And lucid, inescapable rhythms;
But I know, too,
That the blackbird is involved
In what I know.
- Here's another semi-humorous, semi-serious section. The speaker says that he knows a lot about musical, rhythmic speech (poetry!), and that the blackbird is "involved" with his knowledge. Among other things, "involved" could mean "responsible for" or "related to."
- He knows about the spoken "accents" of noble people, or the beats or "accents" or poetry, a noble activity.
- He also knows rhythms that are clear and filled with light ("lucid"), so that you can't "escape" their beauty or compelling quality. It's like when you hear a song that has a beat you can't help tapping your foot along with.
- So, the speaker knows all about these "higher" activities of music and speech, but he also recognizes that these "higher" activities are related to a small black creature with feathers that goes hopping around on trees.