To The Nightingale, Which The Author Heard Sing On New Year's Day

William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)



Whence it is, that amazed I hear
From yonder withered spray,
This foremost morn of all the year,
The melody of May?

And why, since thousands would be proud
Of such a favour shown,
Am I selected from the crowd
To witness it alone?

Sing'st thou, sweet Philomel, to me,
For that I also long
Have practised in the groves like thee,
Though not like thee in song?

Or sing'st thou rather under force
Of some divine command,
Commissioned to presage a course
Of happier days at hand?

Thrice welcome then! for many a long
And joyless year have I,
As thou to-day, put forth my song
Beneath a wintry sky.

But Thee no wintry skies can harm,
Who only need'st to sing,
To make even January charm,
And every season Spring.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

41 sec read
97

Quick analysis:

Scheme XAXA BCBC DEDE FGFG EHEH IJIJ
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 692
Words 134
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

William Cowper

William Macquarie Cowper was an Australian Anglican archdeacon and Dean of Sydney. more…

All William Cowper poems | William Cowper Books

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