Never Again Would Bird's Song Be The Same Poem by Robert Frost

Never Again Would Bird's Song Be The Same

Rating: 3.2


He would declare and could himself believe
That the birds there in all the garden round
From having heard the daylong voice of Eve
Had added to their own an oversound,
Her tone of meaning but without the words.
Admittedly an eloquence so soft
Could only have had an influence on birds
When call or laughter carried it aloft.
Be that as may be, she was in their song.
Moreover her voice upon their voices crossed
Had now persisted in the woods so long
That probably it never would be lost.
Never again would birds' song be the same.
And to do that to birds was why she came.

Never Again Would Bird's Song Be The Same
COMMENTS OF THE POEM
William F. Dougherty 15 July 2008

The soul of the sonnet is metaphor: what Eve's voice does not only to the sound of birds but to the ear of Adam- the namer-poet. Why she came is a myth of origin that precedes a Father of poetry like Orpheus and his mythical lyre; moreover, there's no escaping the intention or influence of divinity, since the creator of Adam created Eve and the voice of Eve. I under-read Frost sometimes: Eve adds the soft eloquence of Sound to Adam's task of Naming (Words) , and that, I venture, marks the birth of poetry-NB: only Adam would have known the sound of birds before the birds absorbed Eve's over-sound, as Adam's son, Robert Frost, celebrates Sound and Sense, the phrase made famous by Alexander Pope. Thus, it seems to follow, never again should we refer to the Father or Mother of poetry, but to the Parents of poetry.

7 3 Reply
Gangadharan Nair Pulingat 29 January 2016

It is so precious and beautiful

9 5 Reply
Akintoye Temitayo 31 August 2015

This is beautiful. please do keep writing

13 12 Reply
* Sunprincess * 30 October 2012

wow the essence of eve's voice was captured in the bird's song and expressed so beautifully in this write..fabulous.. :)

6 2 Reply
Terence An 19 November 2009

This poem seems to me just to be Robert Frost paying respect to females. Women are considered the daughters of Eve and at least the way I interpret it is that after hearing a woman's voice, a bird's is just never as sweet. This poem is also a rejection of the pervasive naturalism in the 20th century since it demonstrates the impact that Eve has upon nature. The possibility that nature would attempt at mimicking humans is a blatant laugh in the face of naturalism.

13 10 Reply
Andrew Hoellering 23 June 2009

I don't believe that divinity has anything to do with it, nor is there any direct mention of Adam. Eve's tones and eloquence, her influence on the birds, goes way back, and is used by Frost to cojoin the human with the natural world, to the mutual enrichment of both.

7 4 Reply
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