Hello and welcome to the Discourse. "The Nightingale: A Conversation Poem" is a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, first published in 1798 as part of the Lyrical Ballads, a collection he co-authored with William Wordsworth. Unlike traditional poems that idealize the nightingale as a symbol of melancholy or poetic inspiration, Coleridge's work challenges these conventions and presents a more naturalistic and personal perspective.
It is a Conversation poem. A conversation poem is a genre of poetry that emerged during the Romantic period, particularly associated with Samuel Taylor Coleridge. These poems are characterized by their informal, reflective, and conversational tone, often addressing a specific listener (usually a friend or loved one) while exploring themes of nature, emotion, and the human experience. Coleridge's conversation poems are considered some of the finest examples of this form. Such poems are written in an intimate tone, as if the poet speaks directly to someone, creating a sense of intimacy and immediacy. Conversation poems are deeply introspective, exploring the poet's thoughts, emotions, and observations about nature, life, and the self.
In this poem, Coleridge is the speaker, and the two people he addresses, who are the poem's silent listeners, are William Wordsworth and Dorothy Wordsworth. Dorothy was William’s sister, but in the poem, Coleridge also refers to Dorothy as his sister. Coleridge, William, and Dorothy have gone to sit by a stream on a mossy bridge at nighttime. The three are simply observing the beauty of nature at night and Coleridge brings their attention to the singing of a nightingale.
Structure of The Nightingale:
The poem consists of 112 lines. The poem is written in blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter) and is divided into five main sections, each exploring different themes and ideas. The first stanza is 39 lines long lines while the second stanza consists of 10 lines. The third stanza has 21 lines while the fourth stanza consists of 18 lines. The last stanza has 24 lines. In the first section, Coleridge rejects the traditional association of the nightingale with melancholy, particularly the myth of Philomela. He argues that this interpretation is a human projection, not an inherent quality of the bird. In the second stanza, the poet shifts to a celebration of the nightingale's song as a joyful expression of nature. He describes a scene where nightingales sing together, emphasizing harmony and community. In the third stanza, the poem concludes with a personal reflection on the poet's infant son and a hopeful vision of his future. Coleridge imagines his son growing up with a deep appreciation for nature, free from the melancholy associations imposed by tradition.
The poem is written in blank verse. The blank verse consists of unrhymed lines written in iambic pentameter. This form is characterized by its natural, flowing rhythm, which mimics the cadence of spoken English. Each line is made up of five poetic feet and each foot consists of two syllables, an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable—and this is true for most of the lines in “The Nightingale.” However, Coleridge has used some variations too. Spondee and Trochee have been used in the poem. Coleridge has used Allusion, Imagery, Symbolism, Metaphor, Personification, Apostrophe, Repetition, Enjambment, and Irony in the poem.
Summary of The Nightingale:
Stanza 1 Lines 1-10
“No cloud, no relique of the sunken day
Distinguishes the West, no long thin slip
Of sullen light, no obscure trembling hues.
Come, we will rest on this old mossy bridge!
You see the glimmer of the stream beneath,
But hear no murmuring: it flows silently,
O’er its soft bed of verdure. All is still,
A balmy night! and though the stars be dim,
Yet let us think upon the vernal showers
That gladden the green earth, and we shall find”
In these lines, the speaker establishes the setting of the poem. He addresses his companions who are accompanying him on a walk. He uses imagery to describe the beauty of the landscape.
The Nightingale opens with Coleridge painting a picture of a nighttime scene with friends. They sit on a "mossy bridge," where they will think about nature. The description is focused on depicting the natural features of the landscape sensibly and beautifully. In this conversation poem, Coleridge is the speaker, and the two people he addresses, who are the poem's silent listeners, are William Wordsworth and Dorothy Wordsworth. Dorothy was William’s sister, but in the poem, Coleridge refers to Dorothy as his sister as well. It should be noted that Coleridge doesn’t address them by their name. He actually uses Apostrophes to address people who may not be present there. The entire poem is directed at an audience, whether it be the reader, a friend, or even nature itself.
Lines 11-20
“A pleasure in the dimness of the stars.
And hark! the Nightingale begins its song,
“Most musical, most melancholy” bird!
A melancholy bird! Oh! idle thought!
In nature there is nothing melancholy.
But some night-wandering man whose heart was pierced
With the remembrance of a grievous wrong,
Or slow distemper, or neglected love,
(And so, poor wretch! filled all things with himself,
And made all gentle sounds tell back the tale”
The speaker describes the scene as pleasurable in the dark night as they observe the stars. The absence of sound and light sets up the scene in which the human observers can focus on the nightingale’s song all the more clearly.
In the 12th line, Coleridge directly references Milton's description of the nightingale in The Nightingale, but he does so to challenge and subvert the traditional interpretation. He alludes to Milton by using his phrase "most musical, most melancholy" from Il Penseroso but immediately rejects the idea that the nightingale is inherently sorrowful. He argues that this interpretation is a human projection, not a true reflection of the bird's nature. In Il Penseroso, the nightingale is a symbol of solitude, melancholy, and poetic inspiration. It represents a contemplative and introspective state of mind. In The Nightingale, Coleridge reimagines the bird as a symbol of joy, community, and the vitality of nature. He emphasizes the nightingale's song as a source of happiness and connection, rather than sorrow. Coleridge stresses that ‘In nature, there is nothing melancholy.’ He supposes that a broken-hearted man wandered through the woods one night and upon hearing the bird’s song, the man projected his own emotions upon Nature and the nightingale and “made all gentle sounds tell back the tale/ Of his own sorrow.”
Lines 21-30
“Of his own sorrow) he, and such as he,
First named these notes a melancholy strain.
And many a poet echoes the conceit;
Poet who hath been building up the rhyme
When he had better far have stretched his limbs
Beside a brook in mossy forest-dell,
By sun or moon-light, to the influxes
Of shapes and sounds and shifting elements
Surrendering his whole spirit, of his song
And of his fame forgetful! so his fame”
The speaker blames the man for imposing his own sad feelings on the nightingale and complains against the poets who continue to follow the conceit. He expresses his disdain for how “many a poet echoes the conceit” of making nature representative of dark human emotions in poetry. Coleridge claims that if such poets took the time to observe and absorb the beauty of their natural surroundings, then they would create poems that reflect nature’s loveliness.
Lines 31-39
“Should share in Nature's immortality,
A venerable thing! and so his song
Should make all Nature lovelier, and itself
Be loved like Nature! But 'twill not be so;
And youths and maidens most poetical,
Who lose the deepening twilights of the spring
In ball-rooms and hot theatres, they still
Full of meek sympathy must heave their sighs
O’er Philomela’s pity-pleading strains.”
Coleridge claims that if such poets took the time to observe and absorb the beauty of their natural surroundings, then they would create poems that reflect nature’s loveliness. However, Coleridge doubts that most poets will ever have such an experience since most young men and women entertain themselves indoors on the most beautiful nights. They have no connection with nature. In line 39, Coleridge alludes to Philomela, a figure from Greek mythology, often associated with the nightingale. In classical mythology, Philomela was a princess who was transformed into a nightingale after enduring a traumatic experience. Her story is one of suffering, silence, and eventual transformation into a bird whose song is often interpreted as melancholic or sorrowful.
Stanza 2 Lines 40-49
“My Friend, and thou, our Sister! we have learnt
A different lore; we may not thus profane
Nature's sweet voices, always full of love
And joyance! 'Tis the merry Nightingale
That crowds, and hurries, and precipitates
With fast thick warble his delicious notes,
As he were fearful that an April night
Would be too short for him to utter forth
His love-chant, and disburthen his full soul
Of all its music!”
Coleridge addresses William Wordsworth and sister Dorothy and says that they are different from those young people who often spend their time in ballrooms and theaters. They rather enjoy the closeness of nature. In contrast to the majority of young people, Coleridge tells William and Dorothy that they three have a true appreciation for nature and they “may not thus profane/ Nature’s sweet voices, always full of love/ And joyance!” Likewise, Coleridge and his companions can interpret Nightingale’s song as joyous and not as melancholy. He challenges the conventional poetic trope that portrays the nightingale as a symbol of grief or lamentation. Instead, Coleridge argues that the nightingale's song is naturally joyful and that its association with sadness is a human projection.
Stanza 3 Lines 50-60
“And I know a grove
Of large extent, hard by a castle huge,
Which the great lord inhabits not; and so
This grove is wild with tangling underwood,
And the trim walks are broken up, and grass,
Thin grass and king-cups grow within the paths.
But never elsewhere in one place I knew
So many nightingales; and far and near,
In wood and thicket, over the wide grove,
They answer and provoke each other's song,
With skirmish and capricious passagings,”
The speaker talks about a neglected grove that is near an enormous castle. This abandoned place is characterized as forgotten, with “Thin grass and king-cups grow within the paths”, and wilderness has encroached on the area. However, the speaker says that he has witnessed many nightingales living there. The place is full of nightingales that sing frequently. They encourage each other to continually produce sweet melodies.
Stanza 3 Lines 61-70
“And murmurs musical and swift jug jug,
And one low piping sound more sweet than all—
Stirring the air with such a harmony,
That should you close your eyes, you might almost
Forget it was not day! On moon-lit bushes,
Whose dewy leaflets are but half disclosed,
You may perchance behold them on the twigs,
Their bright, bright eyes, their eyes both bright and full,
Glistening, while many a glow-worm in the shade
Lights up her love-torch.”
The speaker describes to his two companions a grove by an abandoned castle in which a large number of nightingales flock at night. He vividly describes the joyous sounds of the birds’ songs, such as “murmurs musical” and an onomatopoeic “swift jug jug” that resembles the actual sounds the birds make. According to Coleridge, the sounds of the nightingales in this grove are so beautiful that if a person were to close his eyes, he would feel that he is dreaming. He will feel as if he is dreaming in moon-lit bushes. He describes how the bright eyes of nightingales appear lighting in the dark and how the glow-worms appear like their love-torch, sparkling in the moon-lit night. The imagery of the description of the place is very distant from the description of the song of the nightingales, producing an oxymoron.
Stanza 4 Lines 71-88
“A most gentle Maid,
Who dwelleth in her hospitable home
Hard by the castle, and at latest eve
(Even like a Lady vowed and dedicate
To something more than Nature in the grove
Glides through the pathways; she knows all their notes,
That gentle Maid! and oft, a moment's space,
What time the moon was lost behind a cloud,
Hath heard a pause of silence; till the moon
Emerging, hath awakened earth and sky
With one sensation, and these wakeful birds
Have all burst forth in choral minstrelsy,
As if some sudden gale had swept at once
A hundred airy harps!
And she hath watched
Many a nightingale perched giddily
On blossomy twig still swinging from the breeze,
And to that motion tune his wanton song
Like tipsy joy that reels with tossing head.”
The speaker says that he is not the only one who has seen that forgotten grove. He describes a most gentle beautiful maid, an unmarried young girl, who listens to the beauty of these nightingales’ songs. He has seen a young woman who lives near the castle come to the grove to watch and listen to the birds as well. The maid is described as a girl who frequents the place and hears the nightingales often. The girl seems to be another careful observer of nature. Nature, also, is once again involved in a description of joy and is depicted by a fairytale-like narration.
Stanza 5 Lines 89-100
“Farewell, O Warbler! till to-morrow eve,
And you, my friends! farewell, a short farewell!
We have been loitering long and pleasantly,
And now for our dear homes.—That strain again!
Full fain it would delay me! My dear babe,
Who, capable of no articulate sound,
Mars all things with his imitative lisp,
How he would place his hand beside his ear,
His little hand, the small forefinger up,
And bid us listen! And I deem it wise
To make him Nature's play-mate. He knows well
The evening-star! and once, when he awoke”
In this stanza, the speaker addresses the nightingale as ‘Warbler’ and bids her farewell. The speaker tells his friends that they “have been loitering long and pleasantly” and that it is time to head home and say farewell to each other and the nightingale. Before the companions part, Coleridge remarks how much his infant son would love the nightingale’s song. Coleridge explains how he has instilled a love for nature in his son and that he “[deems] it wise/ To make him Nature’s play-mate.”
Stanza 5 Lines 101-112
“In most distressful mood (some inward pain
Had made up that strange thing, an infant's dream—)
I hurried with him to our orchard-plot,
And he beheld the moon, and, hushed at once,
Suspends his sobs, and laughs most silently,
While his fair eyes, that swam with undropped tears,
Did glitter in the yellow moon-beam! Well!—
It is a father's tale: But if that Heaven
Should give me life, his childhood shall grow up
Familiar with these songs, that with the night
He may associate joy.—Once more, farewell,
Sweet Nightingale! Once more, my friends! farewell.”
The speaker tells his companions about an incident when his infant baby felt some ‘inward pain’ and began crying. When his son had trouble sleeping, he took him to his orchard-plot and the child became calm after seeing the beautiful moonlit night and began smiling calmly. Coleridge wishes for his son to grow to love the nightingale’s song, so “that with the night/ He may associate joy” and not believe the common association between nature and melancholy. In the final lines, the speaker bids farewell to the nightingale and his friends again.
So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of English Literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!
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