Revision for Clarinda
written in 1788
Revision for Clarinda - meaning Summary
Lonely Speaker, Bird Confidante
The poem presents a speaker addressing a singing bird as a consoling presence while he suffers unrequited love. The bird is free to pair and enjoy nature’s pleasures, but the speaker feels excluded, describing himself as a "lovelorn exile" for whom spring and joy are hollow. Nature’s festivity and the bird’s song intensify his loneliness rather than relieve it. The repeated apostrophic address to the bird frames it as both comfort and reminder of his solitude, ending where it began with the bird’s music soothing but not solving his despair.
Read Complete AnalysesGo on, sweet bird, and soothe my care, Thy tuneful notes will hush Despair; Thy plaintive warblings void of art Thrill sweetly thro' my aching heart. Now chuse thy mate, and fondly love, And all the charming transport prove; While I a lovelorn exile live, Nor transport or receive or give. For thee is laughing Nature gay; For thee she pours the vernal day: For me in vain is Nature drest, While joy 's a stranger to my breast! These sweet emotions all enjoy; Let love and song thy hours employ! Go on, sweet bird, and soothe my care; Thy tuneful notes will hush Despair.
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