Complete summary of the poem – To the Cuckoo by William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth discovers in nature an uncommon power which can not only satisfy human beings but also can transform this earth into a homeland for fairies and other super natural agents. It is proved in his poem To the Cuckoo.

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. Clear sunshine made the atmosphere in the valley serene and enjoyable. 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. The song seemed to him a composition of two shouts such as Cuckoo. Further he heard the song being echoed by hills around him.

Although, the Cuckoo was singing in the valley, it brought to his mind the memory of his boyhood days. By listening to the song and its echo, the poet is reminded of his past.

He again addresses the Cuckoo as the darling of the spring. The bird is invisible to the poet. He hears its voice only. It is mysterious that a voice is produced by an in visible bird.

The poet remembered a similar mysterious experience which had come about in his boyhood. He then heard the voice of a cuckoo and was delighted. 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. Still the urge to see the bird did not subside in him. He wandered in woods and a field to discover the bird. Still he did not find. The bird had become a fine hope, a pleasant love for the poet at the time. That hope and that love drove him to look for the bird but the bird was never seen.

The poet does not give up hope to see the bird. He draws immense pleasure from the voice of the cuckoo. The memory, of his boyhood experience also brings pleasure top him. 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.

Although the said time is already passed, he experiences the similar feeling at present through the cuckoo’s voice.

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.