TO THE CUCKOO

To the Cuckoo is one of Wordsworth’s lesser-known pieces. The background of the

poem is largely unknown. But we will try to put the poetry in context here.
Wordsworth is regarded as a supreme poet of Nature. He is a charming nature lover, a
devotee of Nature, or a dedicated priest of Nature. His love for nature was most likely
more pure and delicate than that of any other English poet before or after him. Nature
has a different or freestanding in his poetry and is not treated as easily or casually as
poets before him. Wordsworth had an obvious philosophy, a one-of-a-kind and
distinctive view of nature. There are three points worth noting in his view of Nature:
➡ Wordsworth believed that the company of Nature offers delight to the human heart
and he viewed Nature as exercising a recuperating effect on sorrow-stricken hearts. ➡
Wordsworth believed that people can learn more about a man and of morals, of evil
and good from Nature than from every other philosophy.
➡ In his eyes, Nature is a teacher whose wisdom we can learn, and without which
any human life is vain and deficient.
Thus, he believed that Nature is the real educator for a man.
Themes of To The Cuckoo
a. Nature: It is a prevalent theme as the poet loves nature and talks about pastoral
views such as hills, valleys, flowers, sunshine, and woods.
b. Nostalgia: It is also a dominating theme in the poem as the poet walks down the
memory lane and the cuckoo’s voice leads him to the remembrance of the past. The
poet
calls his childhood period the ‘golden time’ and ‘Visionary hours’ which he cannot
get back as he is an adult now.
c. Gaiety: The tone of the poem is joyful as the poet is excited to welcome the bird
and spring too. The arrival of the cuckoo fills the poet with ecstasy as he can revisit
his childhood memories.
d. Innocence and purity: As the poet expresses his feelings related to childhood, he
actually draws a contradiction between the materialistic and mystical world.
Childhood is a period of innocence and pure thoughts wherein a person is unaware of
the materialistic world.
e. Time: The poet relates the present to the past and the cuckoo bird transports him to
the past memories. He also is reminded of the period when Cuckoo clocks would be
seen in houses which would tell time and at particular hours the mechanical Cuckoo
would dance with melody.
f. Hope and yearning: The bird is a symbol of love and the poet is referring to the
bird as a longing because he has never seen it. This also conveys that the poet has
undeterred hope that he will find his love someday.

o The Cuckoo Poetic Devices

Alliteration
 ● Wandering Voice
● Hill to hill
● Blessed bird

The repetition of initial consonant sounds and alliterations creates rhythm

and mood in the poem to capture the reader’s interest.

Extended Metaphor

The entire poem can be taken in its totality as an extended metaphor of

time. It may be through the cuckoo; the poet is actually referring to time.
Time is unstable and wanders of its own accord. Also, one can only revisit
the past through the portals of time, the same way the poet relives his
childhood memories, using the cuckoo’s song as his porthole.

Onomatopoeia

The ‘O’ used to address the cuckoo is an actual sound that is made to call
somebody, more commonly called “Oh!” In poetry is often used to create
the rhythmical cadences of music without the addition of actual
instrumentation.

Hyperbole

Wordsworth makes use of exaggeration in this poem to focus on certain

aspects of the cuckoo and nature. The earth is called an “unsubstantial,
faery place.” This is to create an image of a mystical place and also, to add
mystery to the cuckoo who the poet has never seen in actuality.

The poet refers to his childhood as the “golden time.” This is done to
establish how precious the memories of his childhood are to him.

Imagery

The poet makes immense use of imagery in To the Cuckoo. The reader’s
mind is painted with the picture of Spring in England. The usage of words
like sunshine, flowers, and Vale (valley) creates a sunny and happy image.
The constant reference to green fields and the cuckoo give this poem a
pastoral touch and showcase the poet’s attachment to nature. Calling the
cuckoo “blithe” and expressing his joy in welcoming back the cuckoo, the
poet gives the poem undertones of happiness and ecstasy. The poet also
gives away the season when he refers to the cuckoo as the “Darling of
Spring.”