Analysis of The Cuckoo
John Clare 1793 (Helpston) – 1864 (St Andrew's Hospital)
The cuckoo, like a hawk in flight,
With narrow pointed wings
Whews o'er our heads - soon out of sight
And as she flies she sings:
And darting down the hedgerow side
She scares the little bird
Who leaves the nest it cannot hide
While plaintive notes are heard.
I've watched it on an old oak tree
Sing half an hour away
Until its quick eye noticed me
And then it whewed away.
Its mouth when open shone as red
As hips upon the brier,
Like stock doves seemed its winged head
But striving to get higher
It heard me rustle and above leaves
Soon did its flight pursue,
Still waking summer's melodies
And singing as it flew.
So quick it flies from wood to wood
'Tis miles off 'ere you think it gone;
I've thought when I have listening stood
Full twenty sang - when only one.
When summer from the forest starts
Its melody with silence lies,
And, like a bird from foreign parts,
It cannot sing for all it tries.
'Cuck cuck' it cries and mocking boys
Crie 'Cuck' and then it stutters more
Till quick forgot its own sweet voice
It seems to know itself no more.
Scheme | ABABCDCD EFEFGHGH XIXIJXJX KLKLXMXM |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0110101 110101 1101011111 011111 0101011 110101 11011101 110111 11111111 1111001 01111101 011101 11110111 1101010 1111111 1101110 111100011 111101 11010100 010111 11111111 11111111 111111001 11011101 11010101 11001101 01011101 11011111 11110101 11011101 11011111 11110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,028 |
Words | 203 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 205 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 50 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:02 min read
- 89 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Cuckoo" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/22298/the-cuckoo>.
Discuss this John Clare poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In