To The Cuckoo | Poem 8 | Summary, Questions and Answers |

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Poem 8 – To The Cuckoo | Tulip Series | Summary, Questions, and Answers |(William Wordsworth)

Wordsworth, William (1770-1850), English poet, one of the most accomplished and influential of England’s poets, whose style created a new tradition in poetry. Wordsworth was born on April 7, 1770, in Cockermouth, Cumberland, and educated at Saint John’s College, The University of Cambridge. He developed a keen love of nature as a youth, and during school vacation periods he frequently visited places noted for their scenic beauty. After receiving his degree in 1791 he returned to France, where he became an enthusiastic convert to the ideals of the French Revolution (1789-1799). Although Wordsworth had begun to write poetry while still a schoolboy, none of his poems was published until 1793. He is popularly known as the poet of nature. He wrote poems portraying nature as something divine and spiritual.

To The Cuckoo (William Wordsworth)

O Blithe New-comer! I have heard,

I hear thee and rejoice.

O Cuckoo! Shall I call thee Bird,

Or but a wandering Voice?

While I am lying on the grass

Thy twofold shout I hear,

From hill to hill it seems to pass,

At once far off, and near.

Though babbling only to the Vale,

Of Sunshine and of flowers,

Thou bringest unto me a tale

Of visionary hours.

Thrice welcome, darling of the Spring!

Even yet thou art to me

No bird, but an invisible thing,

A voice, a mystery;

The same whom in my school-boy days

I listened to; that Cry

Which made me look a thousand ways

In bush, and tree, and sky.

To seek thee did I often rove

Through woods and on the green;

And thou wert still a hope, a love;

Still longed for, never seen.

And I can listen to thee yet;

Can lie upon the plain

And listen, till I do beget

That golden time again.

O blessed Bird! the earth we pace

Again, appears to be

An unsubstantial, faery place;

That is fit home for Thee!

Central Idea of the Poem

            ‘To The Cuckoo’ is a romantic poem in which the poet is thrilled with the voice the Cuckoo. He describes some of his childhood experiences when as a schoolboy he used to rove through the woods. The poet is the lover of nature. The poet admires the voice of bird wishes the days come again for him so that he could rove, again in woods to listen to his beautiful voice.

 Summary of the Poem

          The poem “To The Cuckoo” has been written by a romantic English poet William Wordsworth. The poet was a lover of nature and was often wandering through the woods. He has written many poems for children. ‘To The Cuckoo’ reminds him of the days when as a schoolboy he used to visit forest woods to seek it. In this poem, the poet admires the voice of a bird. The poet is happy about hearing the voice of cuckoo and asks it to call a bird or wandering voice because he had only heard the voice but not the bird. Lying on the grass, he hears the double rising and subsiding sound that seems to be passing from hill to hill

          Though the voice is quick but reminds the poet of the days when he used to seek it in woods. The poet welcomes the bird and considers it as a darling of spring. The poet says that this voice is a mystery for him as he used to listen to this voice when he was a schoolboy and has never seen the bird. In his schoolboy days, this voice made him look for the bird everywhere especially in bushes, trees, and sky. To seek this bird, he often used to wander through woods, and on the grass. The poet had a hope to see the bird. He travelled a long distance but failed to see the bird.

          Now the poet hears the same voice again and wishes the childhood days to come again so that he can search the bird through woods. The poet asks the bird that it has been blessed by the lord on this earth which is a home for it but the same earth on which we live is not good for us.

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Understanding the Poem

Q1. How does the cuckoo’s voice charm the poet?

Ans. The cuckoo’s voice makes the poet very happy. He rejoices when he listens the sweet voice of the bird because it reminds him of the days of his childhood.

Q2. Why does the poet call cuckoo `wandering voice ‘and `darling of the spring’?

Ans. The poet calls the cuckoo as a wandering voice because he had not seen the bird but only the voice through the woods, trees, grass, and throughout the whole valley. He calls the cuckoo as the darling of the spring because the birds and its voice is visible only in the coming of the spring season.

Q3. Which childhood experiences do the poet describe in stanzas five and six?

Ans. In stanzas five and six the poet describes the experiences of schoolboy days when he listens to the voice which he looks a thousand ways In bush, tree, and sky. He used to seek the birds through woods and on the grass. He liked and loved the voice and had hope, for that he could travel long distances.

Q4. What does `golden time’ refer to?

Ans. Golden time refers to the poet’s childhood days or it may the time when the poet finds the bird whose voice makes him happy and reminds his schoolboy days.

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Learning about the literary device

Q5. Who is personified in the poem?

Ans. The whole poem is about the cuckoo and its voice. So, we can say that the cuckoo bird is personified in the poem.

Q6. What is the rhyme scheme of the poem?

Ans. The poem has a good rhyming scheme, as usual, we see in other poems of Wordsworth. The poem has an ‘abab’ rhyming scheme.

Q7. What imagery does Wordsworth use to portray the Beauty of nature in the poem?

Ans. The whole poem is naturally portrayed. The imagery of the cuckoo, its voice, the green grass, hill, sunshine, flowers, spring, woods, bushes, trees, sky, plain, etc. shows and reminds us about the beauty of nature.

Structure of the Poem

          The poem consists of eight stanzas. Each stanza has four lines. The lengths of the lines are not fixed. The poem has a good rhyming scheme, as usual, we see in other poems of Wordsworth. The poem has an ‘abab’ rhyming scheme.

Discussion

Q1. Have you ever heard a cuckoo sing? How did you feel about it?

Ans. When I was a child. I used to go with my maternal uncle to their apple orchard. I many times heard the cuckoo singing as ‘cuckoo, cuckoo’. The first time when I heard this beautiful voice, I searched for it and luckily found the bird. Then I used to make the same sound by blowing the air through my mouth to two half folded hands. Now, whenever I listen to the same sound, it reminds me of those days of childhood. Nowadays these voices are heard very rarely, which means these birds are disappearing yearly.

Q2. Discuss the importance of music in our day to day life?

Music plays an important role in our day to day life. Classical music which is very slow on the pitch can cure many kinds of psychic problems. The music which liked by the new generations is hazardous in many ways. It causes sound pollution.

Suggested Reading

Daffodils by Wordsworth