The Nightingale: A Conversational Poem, Written in April 1798

I think that Wordsworth's main purpose in this poem to transform the common symbolism of the nightingale as a bird of sorrow, into a bird of excitement and mystery. In Biographia Literia, Coleridge says that Wordsworth’s endeavor was to: “…give the charm of novelty to things of every day, and to excite a feeling analogous to the supernatural, by awakening the mind’s attention from the lethargy of custom, and directing it to the loveliness and wonders of the world before us…”. I think that the Nightingale is a great example of this description. Wordsworth begins the work by criticizing men who use the nightingale as a symbol for their own melancholy feelings. The poem includes supernatural images such as the abandoned castle and the gentle maiden who lives alone and walks the castle grounds as well as sounds such as the eerie Aeolian harp. Also, the birds are quiet when the moon disappears, and then break into chorus when it appears. This brings to mind a kind of warewolf-howling-at-the-moon eeriness. The castle grove is a preferred area for the nightingales, and the maiden there truly knows and understands all their notes. The nightingales are transformed from common birds with a melancholy song into mystical creatures with connections to the supernatural. The speaker’s son also bids others to listen to the song of the nightingale and is actually calmed by their songs and the moonlit night. There is an underlying pattern here that purity of mind and soul lead to an understanding of things that seem supernatural. Only the virgin maiden and the innocent baby understand the meaning of the nightingale’s song. The sad, burdened man, a commoner, cannot understand nor appreciate the songs that the nightingale sings for they are too mysterious and alien for him.