Lucy Gray Baird, the protagonist in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, is named after a poem from 1799. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was the first Hunger Games spinoff written by author Suzanne Collins. The novel was published in 2020, and the film adaption was released in 2023. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is one of the best Hunger Games movies, and successfully showcased a much less developed version of Panem, decades before the original films. The film proved that Hunger Games movies not featuring Katniss can still find success.

After watching Katniss rebel against the Capitol in four Hunger Games films, the spinoff film follows a new protagonist, Lucy Gray. In the film, Lucy Gray is portrayed by Rachel Zegler. In addition to Zegler, the cast of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes includes Tom Blyth, Jason Schwartzman, Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage, and Hunter Schafer. The story of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is set during the 10th Hunger Games, and follows a young Coriolanus Snow, who mentors Lucy Gray. Lucy Gray is a standout character in the series, and her name has an interesting origin.

Lucy Gray Baird Is Named After William Wordsworth’s Poem “Lucy Gray”

The Name Lucy Gray Has A Deeper Meaning

In The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Lucy Gray is a member of the Covey, a wandering group of musicians and performers from District 12. The Covey has a tradition of naming kids after a poem or a song. Therefore, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ protagonist was named after William Wordsworth’s 1799 poem “Lucy Gray.” Wordsworth was an English poet who helped begin the Romantic Age in English literature, and “Lucy Gray” is one of his finest works.

The poem “Lucy Gray” is about a young girl who is sent out into the cold by her father in the middle of a winter storm to help her mother get home. However, Lucy Gray never returns home, which prompts a search to begin. Her footsteps are eventually found in the snow, but Lucy Gray is never found. Therefore, the poem depicts the tragic death of a young girl. It makes sense that Collins named Lucy Gray after this poem, since The Hunger Games series also depicts the deaths of several innocent children.

The Meaning Of William Wordsworth’s “Lucy Gray” Poem

William Wordsworth’s “Lucy Gray” Is A Tragic Poem

It is clear that the poem “Lucy Gray” is a tragedy about a lost child. The young girl in the poem is excited about going into town and retrieving her mother. However, she is presumably overwhelmed by the snow storm, and eventually gets lost. Lucy Gray dies before she has a chance to really experience life, just like most tributes in The Hunger Games. “Lucy Gray” is a tragic poem because the young girl should have been protected from the storm, but was instead put in a dangerous position.

In the poem, Lucy Gray is sent out into the storm by her father. Therefore, “Lucy Gray” also depicts how a masculine authority figure allows an innocent child to go into a dangerous situation. Lucy Gray’s father nonchalantly sends her into the storm, not at all considering the potentially ᴅᴇᴀᴅly consequences. This connects to how the authority figures in The Hunger Games series pay no mind to the safety and well-being of innocent children. Furthermore, it is clear that the poem also deals with the power of nature, and the human connection to nature before and after death.

How The Hunger Games Character Is Connected To William Wordsworth’s Lucy Gray

There Are Similarities Between Both Versions Of Lucy Gray

The themes of Wordsworth’s poem connect to Lucy Gray’s arc in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes in many ways. Obviously, Lucy Gray is a tribute in the 10th Hunger Games, so she is an innocent child who is also put in an extremely dangerous situation. Furthermore, Coriolanus Snow is the male authority figure in Lucy Gray’s life. Coriolanus is part of the system that forces children to compete to the death. Therefore, just like the father in the poem, Coriolanus’ beliefs are why Lucy is forced to compete in the Hunger Games alongside countless other innocent children.

The snowstorm is also a really important aspect of the poem, as it causes the death of Lucy Gray. A connection can be made between the snowstorm in the poem and Coriolanus Snow in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. However, even though “Snow always lands on top,” Lucy Gray manages to escape the villainous Coriolanus in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Therefore, unlike in the poem, The Hunger Games’ version of Lucy Gray survives and presumably lives out her days in the wilderness.

How The Hunger Games’ Lucy Gray Flips William Wordsworth’s Narrative On Its Head

Lucy Gray Escapes From Coriolanus Snow In The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes

Even though there are many parallels between the arcs of Lucy Gray in the poem and in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, The Hunger Games spinoff also manages to flip the poem on its head. Both versions of Lucy Gray are very connected to nature, but they have drastically different encounters with its power. In The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the wilderness is Lucy Gray’s refuge, rather than the enтιтy that swallows her up. Meanwhile, the poem’s Lucy Gray is unable to survive in nature and eventually perishes in the snowstorm.

The ending of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is quite mysterious and leaves many unanswered questions. However, it is heavily implied that Lucy Gray flees because she realizes she will never survive around humans, or at least around Coriolanus. It is never revealed where Lucy Gray flees to, but her song continues to be sung long after she is gone, just as it’s stated that some can still hear Lucy singing in the poem. Therefore, there are many connections between Wordsworth’s poem and the character of Lucy Gray in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

William Wordsworth’s poem “Lucy Gray” can be read here.