Summary
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ title is assumed to reference Coriolanus Snow and Lucy Gray Baird, but it could instead be a callback to The Hunger Games’ Katniss Everdeen. The prequel movie, based on the book of the same name, is set decades before the Girl on Fire is born, but it provides the foundation for what would become her rivalry with President Snow. The story offers an explanation for why the dictator took such issue with Katniss in particular, and this all comes back to the film’s somewhat cryptic title.
Set during Panem’s 10th Hunger Games, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes sees a teenage Coriolanus “Coryo” Snow become a mentor for the female District 12 tribute, Lucy Gray Baird. The girl is similar to Katniss in that her singing voice can captivate a nation, but she is far more adept at turning a crowd than the future 74th Hunger Games victor. Lucy Gray and Coryo wind up in a dangerous love affair, implying that the title of Ballad and Songbirds and Snakes refers to this pair—Snow the snake and Lucy Gray the songbird. However, details from the prequel indicate that the titular “ballad” is far more complex than that.
The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes Title Is Still Referring To Katniss & Snow – Theory Explained
In The Hunger Games, President Snow is frequently compared to a snake, both for his appearance and the way he prefers poison in his murders. Therefore, it’s safe to say that the “snake” in the prequel film’s title is referencing him. Additionally, since Lucy Gray Baird becomes known in Panem for her musical ability, the assumption is that she is meant to be the titular “songbird.” However, throughout The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Lucy Gray frequently utilizes snakes to attack her enemies. They save her life in the arena, and she even later tricks Snow into getting bitten by one—she’s far more poisonous than a typical songbird.
Rather than the prequel’s title referring to a ballad about Snow and Lucy Gray, the mention of songbirds and snakes makes a lot more sense for Katniss and President Snow. In The Hunger Games, the Mockingjay and the snake-like dictator were each other’s primary enemies. They had their eyes so fixed upon one another that neither of them noticed President Coin coming in to rip their worlds apart. Though Katniss didn’t know it, her war with Snow started long before she was born— their “ballad” started back during the 10th Hunger Games when Snow learned the importance of the brutal games and the dangers of a girl from District 12.
Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes Explains Why Snow Took Katniss’ Actions Personally In Hunger Games
Katniss and Snow’s rivalry is the center of the Hunger Games franchise, including The Battle of Songbirds and Snakes. Katniss might not have been born yet, but Snow’s experience during the 10th Hunger Games reveals precisely why the Girl on Fire terrified Panem’s president when she was reaped for the event decades later. In the Hunger Games prequel, Snow falls in love with Lucy Gray, but his love for her is nearly his own downfall. Additionally, he realized through his relationship with the District 12 tribute that a charismatic rebel could easily shatter the Capitol’s control.
Sixty-four years after Snow learned this, a girl from District 12 was reaped for the Hunger Games. She resembled Lucy Gray, had a similar fighting spirit, and was willing to twist the rules of the games to win. While in the arena, Katniss sang a song (one Lucy Gray had once sung) to a dying little girl and covered her body in flowers. Later, once the rebellion had begun, Katniss sang the “Hanging Tree” song, which had been written by none other than Lucy Gray (partly about a murder Coryo had committed). To Snow, Katniss’ every action was directed straight at him, even when she didn’t yet know it. The Mockingjay was the end of the story Snow had started years before.
Is Lucy Gray Baird A Songbird Or A Snake?
If the title of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes refers to the start of Katniss and Snow’s story, then where does that leave Lucy Gray Baird? Since Katniss likely reminded Snow so strongly of Lucy Gray, she could surely still be considered a songbird herself. After all, it was she who wrote the songs that Katniss would later use to stir the nation into rebellion. However, it was also Lucy Gray who showed Snow the power a small snake could have. She used the creatures to subtly attack her enemies, and when Snow used rat poison to murder Casca Highbottom at the end of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, he got the idea from Lucy Gray.
Therefore, it’s possible that Lucy Gray is both snake and songbird. She is the combination of both President Snow and Katniss Everdeen—the unknowing catalyst of the pair whose rivalry would revolutionize Panem. This means that the title of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes refers to an epic about all three characters, with Snow and Lucy Gray as the “snakes” and Katniss and Lucy Gray as the “songbirds.”
