Poetry · Chapter
A Bird's Nest explained
An old man protects a nest of young birds from youths who wish to shoot them for food.
What happens
An old man protects a nest of young birds from youths who wish to shoot them for food. The birds eventually grow and fly away to a broader field, with a wish that they may never face harm.
Themes in this chapter
Nature and the Environment
The poem centers on the protection of a bird nest and the natural growth of the young birds.
Moral Lessons and Domestic Virtue
The old man's guardianship and the youths' restraint from harming the birds convey a moral about protecting the innocent.
Characters to notice
- Old Carlock
The old man who guards the bird nest and shields the young birds from the youths.
Key passages
“An old man who had charge of field, With pride he saw two birds did build, A broad capacious warm nest, So full of young with speckled breast”
An old man responsible for a field proudly watched two birds build a large, warm nest filled with speckled young.
Introduces the old man and the nest.
“Youths tried with old man to prevail, To let them blaze away at quail, But though they longed for a fat pot, At them they never got a shot.”
Young people tried to persuade the old man to let them shoot the birds for a meal, but they never succeeded.
The youths' attempt to hunt the birds is thwarted.
“No more the old man doth them shield, For they have flown to broader field, Long may they spread their wings and tail, And may no foe them 'ere assail.”
The old man no longer protects them because they have flown to a larger field, and he wishes them a long, safe life.
The birds leave the nest and the old man offers a blessing.