Poetry · Chapter
Fifty Faggots explained
The speaker observes fifty stacked faggots from a copse, reflecting on their past as living underwood and their future as firewood.
What happens
The speaker observes fifty stacked faggots from a copse, reflecting on their past as living underwood and their future as firewood. He imagines the nests birds will build in them next spring, but notes that this spring is already past. The faggots will fuel several winters' fires, and by the time they are consumed, the war will have ended, along with many other things beyond his control.
Themes in this chapter
Nature and the Seasons
The faggots are described as former underwood of hazel and ash, and the poem anticipates birds nesting in them next spring, contrasting with the current hot day.
War and Mortality
The speaker directly links the faggots' consumption to the war's end, suggesting mortality and the passage of time.
The Cycle of Life and Death
The faggots transition from living wood to firewood, and the poem reflects on what will end before they are gone, including the war and other unforeseen things.
Characters to notice
- Unknown
The speaker who contemplates the faggots, the passage of time, and the war's end.
Key passages
“Fifty Faggots There they stand, on their ends, the fifty faggots That once were underwood of hazel and ash In Jenny Pinks’s Copse.”
Fifty bundles of sticks are stacked upright, which were once young hazel and ash trees growing in Jenny Pinks's woodland.
Introduces the faggots and their origin.
“Now, by the hedge Close packed, they make a thicket fancy alone Can creep through with the mouse and wren.”
Now, tightly packed against the hedge, they form a dense thicket that only imagination can pass through, alongside a mouse or a wren.
Describes the faggots' current arrangement and the creatures that can navigate them.
“Next Spring A blackbird or a robin will nest there, Accustomed to them, thinking they will remain Whatever is for ever to a bird: This Spring it is too late; the swift has come.”
Next spring, a blackbird or robin will build a nest in them, believing they will last forever—as birds perceive time—but this spring is already past; the swift has arrived.
Contrasts the birds' timeless perspective with the speaker's awareness of change.
“’Twas a hot day for carrying them up: Better they will never warm me, though they must Light several Winters’ fires.”
It was a hot day to carry them here; they will never warm me better than now, yet they will fuel many winter fires.
Reflects on the irony of gathering firewood on a hot day.
“Before they are done The war will have ended, many other things Have ended, maybe, that I can no more Foresee or more control than robin and wren.”
Before these faggots are used up, the war will be over, and many other things will have ended—things I can no more predict or influence than a robin or wren can.
Connects the faggots' consumption to the war's end and human powerlessness.