Clare's "The Nightingale's Nest"

Yes folks, this is yet another nightingale poem. It looks like we aren’t getting away from this trope bird any time soon. But unlike most poems involving the bird, this certain poem focuses on the nightingale’s relationship with nature and the hidden nest.

This poem’s strong suit is the rich imagery that Clare provides of the wooded area where the bird has nested. “These harebells all/seem bowing with the beautiful in song;/ And gaping cukoo-flower, with spotted leaves, seems blushing of the singing it has heard.” The lines paint a perfect picture of the area around the nightingale’s nest, protecting it from outside forces that may mean it harm. It is off in solitude, but not solitude in a bad way. Perhaps the nest represents something the author is seeking in life that once found, is better left to not be disturbed. The message of the poem seems to be that it is the journey to find things that is the most rewarding and in the end, you might not want the thing itself.