To+The+Cuckoo

=__To The Cuckoo - Presentation Group: K McCafferty, N Porter, P Manmindar, L Neumann__=

Our presentation is summed up in the slideshow that i have inserted just here. All the info in the slideshow has been pasted onto the page for you to view anyway if you do not have "Powerpoint". The Powerpoint just has better visual learning methods to it.

=__**The Poem:**__= O blithe newcomer! I have heard, I hear thee and rejoice: O Cuckoo! shall I call thee bird, Or but a wandering Voice?

While I am lying on the grass I hear thy restless shout; From hill to hill it seems to pass, About. and all about!

To me, no Babbler with a tale Of sunshine and of flowers, Thou tellest, Cuckoo! in the vale Of visionary hours.

Thrice welcome, darling of the Spring! Even yet thou art to me No bird, but an invisible thing, A voice, a mystery;

The same whom in my schoolboy days I listened to; that Cry Which made me look a thousand ways In bush, and tree, and sky.

To seek thee did I often rove Through woods and on the green; And thou wert still a hope, a love; Still longed for, never seen!

And I can listen to thee yet; Can lie upon the plain And listen, till I do beget That golden time again.

O blessed bird! the earth we pace Again appears to be An unsubstantial, faery place, That is fit home for Thee!


 * Common Cuckoo**
 * Guira Cuckoo**
 * Dideric Cuckoo**

media type="file" key="striped.mp3" width="128" height="16"
 * The Call of a striped Cuckoo**

=__Summary:__= The Poem “To the Cuckoo”, written by William Wordsworth is a poem that is addressed to a Cuckoo bird. Wordsworth is lying on the grass, immersing himself in nature when he hears the sound of a Cuckoo bird crying. The Cuckoo birds cry strikes emotions in him that he has not visited since his childhood. He takes the birds cry to have a story behind it and true significance rather than disregarding the cry as most others would in this case. The cry makes Wordsworth recollect his childhood days when he first heard the bird. Its "wandering voice" leads him through the woods and valleys trying to find its origin, but he never finds the bird. The poem then brings us back to present day where Wordsworth can appreciate how the bird affects his memory. The poem ends with Wordsworth commenting that the bird is blessed and deserves to be in a mythical earth, where it resides.

=__Summary 2:__=

This poem has been written in admiration and glorification of the cuckoo. The cuckoo becomes a symbol of beauty, innocence and childhood for the poet. The poet hears the cuckoo singing in a garden. Her song reminds him of the golden days of his childhood. The poet calls the cuckoo a happy stranger. He bears and enjoys her song; bit is unable to see her. The cuckoo is more like a wandering voice than a bird to him.

The cuckoo's double-cry seems to travel rapidly from hill to hill. Sometimes, it seems very near and some times very far away. The poet calls on the cuckoo but this is vain as he cannot trace her out. The poem presents a beautiful contrast between the poet and the cuckoo. The poet lives in the past. The cuckoo lives in the present.

=__Analysis: Annotations of what the poet is saying__=

Stanza 1 O blithe newcomer! I have heard, -Wordsworth is addressing the bird all throughout the poem, it is dedicated to the Cuckoo bird. -Blithe: Casual or carefree. Saying “Oh blithe newcomer”, Wordsworth is giving the bird the label of being merry and not being subject to the restriction of industrial life. -“I have heard” means he knows the bird (birds cry) I hear thee and rejoice: -He is happy when he hears this bird O Cuckoo! shall I call thee bird, Or but a wandering Voice? -He wonders if he should label it as just a bird, or is it a creature bigger than the realms of his comprehension? -“Wandering voice” gives the bird the “ability” to be free and again not subject to regular human lifestyle restriction Stanza 2 While I am lying on the grass I hear thy restless shout; -The poem then states it is present time when Wordsworth hears the birds constant cry (check above for a striped cuckoos call) From hill to hill it seems to pass, About, and all about! -It seems to Wordsworth that the birds cry is echoing all around the hills he is in, the cuckoo’s call is passing around the area, submerging him into its song. Stanza 3 To me, no Babbler with a tale Of sunshine and of flowers, -These two lines indicate that this bird’s cry has so much more attached to it than one would perceive. “no Babbler” indicates the bird is not meaningless and does not just “babble”. -“with a tale of sunshine and of flowers” again portrays that the bird is not a meaningless creature with a story about flowers and sunshine, as most cuckoo’s songs would be. Thou tellest, Cuckoo! in the vale Of visionary hours. -This cuckoo tells a story of “visionary hours” or times from the past. The cuckoo’s song has an attachment to Wordsworth’s past. Stanza 4 Thrice welcome, darling of the Spring! -Wordsworth is happy to welcome the bird and its story. The “thrice” is an emphasis on his eagerness to receive the birds call. Even yet thou art to me No bird, but an invisible thing, A voice, a mystery; -These lines say that Wordsworth has actually never seen the bird and that it is a mysterious voice. The bird has been hidden to him over the years, yet it can still strike emotions in him. Stanza 5 The same whom in my schoolboy days -The cry is the same he heard as a child. The poem now enters into the past I listened to; that Cry Which made me look a thousand ways In bush, and tree, and sky. -As a child he heard the birds cry. Yet again the birds cry was able to submerge him in its echo, he becomes captured in its melody and fascinated in finding the bird. Stanza 6 To seek thee did I often rove -The bird inspired him to seek it out. He did “often” rove looking for it, signifying that he had a deep attachment to this bird’s cry and that it was more than just a beautiful sound. Through woods and on the green; -Searching far and wide. Dedicated to finding it. And thou wert still a hope, a love; -He truly wants to find this bird. He still hopes to. Still longed for, never seen! -“a love, Still longed for, never seen!” Wordsworth reveals his love for this bird. He now tells us that he did indeed love the bird and was for this reason he searched for it. He never found the the bird but still yearns to. Stanza 7 And I can listen to thee yet; -Poem enters present time again. Can lie upon the plain And listen, till I do beget <span style="COLOR: rgb(33,7,237)">- Beget: Produce That golden time again. <span style="COLOR: rgb(37,12,223)">-The whole stanza only makes sense when analyzed together. He explains that now, he can hear the cuckoo birds cry while laying out in a field, and is able to produce the memories of what he considers his “golden time”. As a true romantic his years as a child are considered to be the best of his life (golden), and this Cuckoo bird is able to draw that emotion from him. Stanza 8 O blessed bird! the earth we pace <span style="COLOR: rgb(31,9,220)">-“O blessed bird!” indicates again how the entire poem is addressed to the Cuckoo but also his love. He loves the bird and indicates that it bestow’s joy and happiness to him. Again appears to be <span style="COLOR: rgb(24,11,234)">-“Again”: he has visited this notion before An unsubstantial, faery place, <span style="COLOR: rgb(26,10,240)">-This is the line that we have found most difficult to annotate and translate into modern English. “unsubstantial” can take on the meanings of “immaterial”, “flimsy” or “not true”, and our best guess is that the word “faery” can take on the meaning of a closely spelt word, “fairy”. We deduct that seeing as modern scholars have published versions of the poem with the word “fairy” in the place of “faery”. Therefore we feel that Wordsworth is trying to say that the earth that both of them share is not strong or concrete (in the figurative sense) and that it is actually a mystical place because it can hold such immense natural beauty at the same time as holding such distained industrial evil. That is fit home for Thee <span style="COLOR: rgb(25,9,246)">-Wordsworth ends the poem by indicating that a home of such great versatility, being able to house two such opposing phenomenon, is a suitable home for such a beautiful and beloved creature.

=__Our Version of the Poem__=

We re-wrote "to the cuckoo" in our own words to create a better understanding of the text hoping it would appeal to everyone better and create a better reception of the poem. Not exact to Wordsworth's style but a summary nonetheless

Cuckoo Bird, I have heard you before and am glad to hear you again. Shall I label you a bird or something greater?

I’m lying here on the grass. I hear your incessant cry. It is everywhere.

You have a story, a meaningful one, It doesn’t talk of insignificant things. You cuckoo bird, talk of things in another time.

I welcome you yet again amazing creature, Even though I love you, I have never seen you. You are mysterious to me.

I heard you once as a school boy. Your cry fascinated me, I was eager to find you

I looked for you often, I went through forests and valleys for you. I never lost hope that I would find you. You were longer for but never seen!

And now I can still listen to you, Lie here in the green again And I can produce memories from the golden times of childhood.

You are an amazing creature! This world does not hold truth, It is so diverse, holding beauty and malice; This is the home for you!

=__<span style="COLOR: rgb(25,9,246)"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">Themes __= =<span style="COLOR: rgb(25,9,246)"> = There are several themes evident throughout "To The Cuckoo" Some of these are also seen in Wordsworth's other poems.

Nature
Wordworths' opinion on nature is a central theme in "To the Cuckoo" as he sits taking in his surroundings listening to the song of the bird. Nature is a primary idea in many of Wordsworths' works and illustrates his belief in romanticism and the deeper importance of being immersed in nature in response to the industrial revolution and the growing cities around him.

Childhood and Memories
As Wordsworth sits listening to and looking for the Cuckoo he cannot see, he finds himself revisiting his childhood memories and school boy days as he often heard the song of the Cuckoo yet he could never find it.The characterisation of the bird allows Wordsworth to merge his past recollections with the present.This theme illustrates the greater significance of the poem; this poem is wordsworths’s way of expressing how the memory is a key factor in preserving the delights and pleasures of being in touch with a divine being through nature.

The Cuckoo birds cry is not only significant because he believes the cuckoo itself is an extraordinary creature and represents a higher being, but because the Cuckoo’s cry is a trigger for him. Wordsworth is able to access memories from decades before hand of “the golden time” in his childhood via the message the cuckoo brings. Wordsworth is not only trying to convey the idea that the cuckoo bird is an outstanding creature and that its cry signifies a memory trigger, but he wants the reader to understand that true romantic notions in a childhood truly leave those that believe in preserving the innocence of childhood, and that no matter how many years pass, the true romanticism will always live on in believers. Although children are best in touch with the Divine and do not have to be subject to the industrial age, adults such as Wordsworth that keep believing, will help preserve the romantic way.