"The Nightingale and the Glow worm" Poem summary and exam tips related to this poem if any ?
Answers
Answer:
Summary of "The Nightingale and the Glowworm":
The Nightingale and the Glow worm by William Cowper is a poem about a nightingale and a clever glow worm. The nightingale sings all day long and beautifies its surroundings with its melodious voice. At night, the nightingale who is hungry after singing, hunts down the glow worm as his meal. However in the end he loses his prey. The glow worm being a quick thinker starts to compliment and praise the songbird. The nightingale listens to the worm with pride and is pleased with the glow worm's sweet words. The glow worm further continues to mention that as the nightingale brightens and makes the day cheerful the glow worm decorates the night with its light. He says that they both are the creatures of God and they both have their purposes and hence should live in harmony with each other. With his eloquent and smart oration the glow worm saves himself.
Explanation:
The 1st and 2nd stanza of this poem is set in a village in the English countryside. That village is in the very lap of nature and many hawthorn trees go there. A Nightingale cheers the villagers with its song. A glow-worm is also to be found nearby. Although the Nightingale wants to eat the glow-worm at first, later it is convinced that creatures of the earth should not harm each other. The 3rd and 4th stanzas of this poem are set in the human world as a whole. In this world, there are warring factions. But the poet wants those factions to learn about mutual respect from the nightingale and the glow-worm.
The poem consists of 4 stanzas. The 1st stanza is made up of 14 lines. The 2nd stanza is made up of 12 lines. The 3rd stanza is made up of 8 lines. The 4th stanza is made up of 4 lines. Hence, the entire poem consists of 38 lines in total.