To The Cuckoo By William Wordsworth | Short Summary | Question-Answers | Video Explanation

MSEducator.in - To The Cuckoo By William Wordsworth
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To the Cuckoo is a lyrical poem with eight stanzas. Hence, it can be called an ode to the Cuckoo bird. The poet has directly addressed this poem to the cuckoo and expresses his love, devotion and desire to see the glimpse of the cuckoo throughout the poem. The poet hears the voice of the cuckoo and starts thinking about the memory of his youth. The cuckoo bird is an image of arrival of the spring, happiness, purity and boyhood.


- READ THIS POEM -


- SHORT SUMMARY -
The poet was wandering in the valley. He heard the sweet voice of a Cuckoo. He felt delighted. It was spring season. The valley was full of beautiful flowers. The poet in his extreme gladness addresses the Cuckoo as ‘Blithe New – Comer’. The Cuckoo appears first when spring comes to the earth. It sings happily. The poet was lying on the grassy field when he heard the song of the Cuckoo. He heard the song being echoed in the hills around him. Although, the Cuckoo was singing in the valley, it brought to his mind the memory of his boyhood days.
The bird is invisible to the poet. He could only hear its voice. It is mysterious that a voice is produced by an invisible bird. The poet remembered a similar mysterious experience which had come about in his boyhood. It made him curious to see the bird. He searched for the bird in bush, tree and sky. But he did not find the bird. The bird had become a fine hope, a pleasant love for the poet at the time. The poet does not give up hope to see the bird. He draws immense pleasure from the voice of the cuckoo. The voice of the Cuckoo is the medium through which he goes back to his past and derives pleasure. For him, his boyhood is the golden time.


- EXPLANATION -

- Stanza 1 -
O blithe New-comer! I have heard,
I hear thee and rejoice.
O Cuckoo! shall I call thee Bird,
Or but a wandering Voice?
Explanation :
Wordsworth welcomes the cuckoo bird with a sense of familiarity, as he says he has heard it before. The cuckoo is merry and carefree from all the worldly worries. The cuckoo bird’s voice brings back joyous memories to the poet and thus, he rejoices. The third and the fourth line of the poem are suggestive of the idea that the poet has never actually seen the bird, and knows it only by his voice.


- Stanza 2 -
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.
Explanation :
Wordsworth is lying on the grass when he hears the cuckoo’s call. The cuckoo’s voice echoes across hills , and reaches the poet. The poet also reveals to the readers how he discovers that the voice is that of a cuckoo, by the twofold shout that he hears is something exclusive to the cuckoo.


- Stanza 3 -
Though babbling only to the Vale,
Of Sunshine and of flowers,
Thou bringest unto me a tale
Of visionary hours.
Explanation :
Despite singing to the valley, talking about sunshine and flowers, the cuckoo bird’s voice brings back many memories to the poet. The song of the cuckoo acts as an element of nostalgia, transporting the poet to the days of his past. He calls those times “visionary hours” as he cannot go back to them but can only envision them from his memory.



- Stanza 4 -
Thrice welcome, darling of the Spring!
Even yet thou art to me
No bird, but an invisible thing,
A voice, a mystery;
Explanation :
The poet welcomes the cuckoo thrice, indicating his excitement and eagerness. The cuckoo is addressed as the harbinger of the spring. This is where the poet clearly states that he has never seen the cuckoo in reality. He recognizes the cuckoo by its voice. Thus, to the poet the cuckoo is more of a mysterious voice whom he wants to see. 


- Stanza 5 -
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.
Explanation :
In this stanza, the poet is transported to days of his childhood when he used to listen to the cry of the cuckoo and go a thousand ways in search of the bird. He left no possible place undiscovered, be it the bushes, the trees or the sky. 


- Stanza 6 -
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.
Explanation :
The poet wandered constantly, looking for the bird in woods everywhere. Despite being unsuccessful in the past, the poet hasn’t given up and says that he still hopes to find the bird. Wordsworth has also confessed his love for the cuckoo bird. In the last line of the poem, the poet States he hasn’t lost hope yet and still wants to find it.


- Stanza 7 -
And I can listen to thee yet;
Can lie upon the plain
And listen, till I do beget
That golden time again.
Explanation :
With this stanza, the poet again travels back to the present and says that he can still listen to the cuckoo, lying on the ground and memorize his days of childhood. Like gold, he implies that his childhood was precious to him and that he wants to relive the moments of his schoolboy days by lying down on the grass and listening to the voice of the cuckoo. The poet is nostalgic and wants to memorize his childhood by hearing the cuckoo’s voice.


- Stanza 8 -
O blessed Bird! the earth we pace
Again appears to be
An unsubstantial, faery place;
That is fit home for Thee!
Explanation :
Cuckoo is addressed as a blessed bird. It is blessed with the quality of an angel or a fairy. It fills the world with joy and happiness. The earth where human beings live appears to be a fairy place. Cuckoos like to dwell in that fairy place or a dream-land.


- THEMES OF THE POEM -
Nature is a prevalent theme as the poet talks about flowers, valleys .The poet is lying on the grass when hears the cuckoo’s cry, which echoes across hills. This shows the poet’s deep attachment to nature.

Nostalgia is also a dominating theme in the poem as the poet talks about how he remembers the voice of the cuckoo from his childhood and how it transports the poet to his younger “golden days”.



- WORD MEANINGS -
  • Blithe - Happy
  • Babbling - Talking continuously
  • Vale - Valley
  • Rove - Roam
  • Beget - Make something happen
  • Faery - Imaginary

- QUESTION /ANSWERS -

Q. Why does the speaker call the cuckoo , ‘a blithe new comer’?
Q. Why does the poet choose to call the cuckoo a wandering voice?
Q. Why does the speaker welcome the cuckoo thrice?
Q. Has the speaker seen the cuckoo?
Q. Does the cuckoo remind the speaker of his childhood days?
Q. What does the cuckoo bring to the poet?
Q. What did the cuckoo make the poet do during his school days?
Q. What is the cuckoo symbolic of?
Q. Do you think the speaker is nostalgic?
Q. How does the earth appear to the poet after hearing the cuckoo’s voice?
Q. List various themes in the poem.


Q. Reference to the Context :

A.
" O cuckoo ! Shall I call thee Bird,
Or but a wandering voice? "

a. Who is the speaker? Whom is he speaking to?
b. Why is the speaker in a dilemma?

B.  
" O blessed Bird! The earth we pace
Again appears to be
An unsubstantial , faery place ;
That is fit home for Thee! "

a. Who is the speaker?
b. Who is the ‘blessed Bird’ being spoken to?
c. Why does the speaker call the earth ‘an unsubstantial place’?

- ANSWERS -

- Self Evaluation Test -

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