Sonnet by John Milton

mu

O  Nightingale, that on yon bloomy Spray
Warbl'st at eeve, when all the Woods are still,
Thou with fresh hope the Lovers heart dost fill,
While the jolly hours lead on propitious May,

Thy liquid notes that close the eye of Day, [ 5 ]
First heard before the shallow Cuccoo's bill
Portend success in love; O if Jove's will
Have linkt that amorous power to thy soft lay,

Now timely sing, ere the rude Bird of Hate
Foretell my hopeles doom in som Grove ny: [ 10 ]
As thou from yeer to yeer hast sung too late

For my relief; yet hadst no reason why,
Whether the Muse, or Love call thee his mate,
Both them I serve, and of their train am I.


Introduction. Sonnet 1 is a meditation on the commonplace contrast of the nightingale and cuckoo, and all that they have traditionally been made to represent. The nightingale is the "bird of song" who portends "success in love" and brings good fortune to those who listen to its melodious song. The cuckoo is the "rude Bird of Hate" most commonly associated with jealously and cuckoldry. The contrast between the nightingale and cuckoo enables Milton to establish the symbolic identification of Philomel with chastity which receives explicit reiteration in A Mask (Variorum 2(2): 357). Collin O'Mara and Amar Dhand

Nightingale. The "bird of song" popular in many poems, especially Italian sonnets. Milton may be echoing the literary tradition of poems such as The Cuckoo and the Nightingale by Sir Thomas Clanvowe (Hughes, 53). See also The Lady's Song to Echo in A Mask 230-243 and Elegy 5.25.

hours. A reference to the daughters of Zeus and Themis the goddess of justice, the Horae were deities whose dancing brought about the change of seasons. For an account of their birth see Hesiod's Theogony 901.

liquid notes. The adjective "liquid" is especially appropriate to describe the song of the Nightingale as compared to the song of the cuckoo. The nightingale sings a very melodic cascade of sounds over many frequencies whereas the cuckoo sings a two-note song characteristic of a cuckoo clock.

shallow.Thin, harsh (OED2).

Cuccoo's bill. Hearing the nightingale before the cuckoo heralded luck in love.

Bird of Hate. The cuckoo's call was believed to prophesy cuckoldry or infidelity, causing people to associate it with revenge and hate.

keatslover

in english literature , nightingale is a very common image . it is employed by john miltion , sydney ,john keats and  many other minor poets . according to an english critic , it originally did not signify sorrow but joy as exemplified in the present sonnet by john milton. it gained its tremendous power of sadness in john keats' poem with the nightingale title. we might as well say that the romantics can be represented by various images in their poems: wordsworth by the thorn , shelly by his wind and lark etc. of all these i think the fitest of all is john keats by nightingale .