The Poplar Field

THE POPLAR FIELD
[Written by: William Cowper (1731-1800)]
-It is a profound contemplation over the transition of human life and the things in nature that serve as remarkable source of pleasure to humans.
The poem urges us to protect nature. In the poem the poet express his personal emotion and feeling with nostalgic tone. The poet used to enjoy among the poplar trees in the past but now as the tree has been cut down the poet doesn’t get any cool shade and melodious song of the wind. The wind no longer plays and sing in the leaves of poplar trees because the tree is no longer exist also the poet could no longer see the reflection of poplar trees in the water of Oise river .Here, the tone of the poet is nostalgic.
His nostalgic tone continuous even in the second and third stanzas. Twelve year before the poet used to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the poplar field. He used to sit under the cool shade of the trees but now as the trees are laid down on the grass he sits on their logs. Once he used to hear the sweet song of the blackbirds but now they have flown away for another shelter.
The poet years are passing very quickly and one day he will have to die and lie in his grave but by then other poplar trees will not have grown in the place of the dead trees because it takes a longtime for the new trees to grow .Here the poet images himself dying and lying on his grave. He means that he has to die before another such groove of poplar trees grow in the place of the dead ones.
The bitter fact makes the poet contemplate on the temporary nature of human pleasure. The poet used to feel tremendous pleasure in the company of the poplar trees but now when the trees have been destroyed his pleasure too has perished and his pleasure cannot be restored in his lifetime, because it takes long time for the new poplar trees to grow in the place of the old ones. So the poet concludes that human enjoyment has shorter death than their short lives. The poet means that human pleasure dies sooner than human themselves.


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The Poplar Field
William Cowper
Hemingway is a romantic poet. Like his other literary works, this is also a romantic poem representing nature. He describes the difference in the environment and natural beauty before and after the poplar trees are fallen down. With example of poplar trees, the poet wants to show the real phase of human life according to rule of nature.
The poplars are cut down which used to grow along the Ouse River. The river doesn’t reflect the beautiful shadows of these trees. The musical environment has been ruined now. The leaves don’t blow the air and sing a song in happy mood. There are also no shades. These trees were once in the field but now they have become seats. Not only the environment has been ruined but there is also destruction of the blackbird’s habitat. The bird used to add charm in that beautiful environment by its different types of melodious songs. It has transferred its nest to the hazel trees to get shelter and shade.
The poet thinks that his days too are passing away fast and should be lying down like those poplars. He thinks that he will be in the tomb before such grove will grow again. Such scenes make him think deeply about human lives. He understands that trees are perishable like the woods. Such events inspire him to think about the perishable nature of human joys and our enjoyment is short when our lives are so short. Man is the most perishable thing in the world and will live shorter than now in the future.
The poem deals with the personal feeling according to the principle of romanticism. Romantic writers don’t write care the common interest so they express their personal emotions using singular pronoun ‘I’. So, in this poem we see the first person instead of others. Personal approach makes the expression stronger and powerful.
The poem compares the life cycle of poplar and the human life. Poplar grows up; it produces branches, leaves, etc. it makes shades and pillars. It lies down and perishes in the ground. Our lives also grow and perish. Human life is also similar to the natural life. However, the life of nature or tree passes through time. The human life is also the same. So, our enjoyment goes away from the life. As human life is not certain, we should live our life, every moment of life enjoying a lot and with great happiness. We cannot take these enjoyable moments with us after our death. We can take only the physical body, which we get from the nature. Our pleasures and enjoyments all die before our death.

The poem is remarkable for its celebration of the rural and its nostalgic tone. (Nostalgic poems are reminiscences of past life of a writer, is also part of autobiography). The poet recollects the scene of the poplar trees, which he used to enjoy the whispering sound of the tree columns. Winds used to play and sing in the leaves. Rivers reflect the image of the trees beautifully. Birds have shifted to other places. Melody has disappeared. Now he has no pleasures in these poplar trees. After 12 years he sees the field and feels everything dead by deplumation.
The poet has given indirect suggestion to the readers to protect the natural vegetation. He warns us that if we won’t protect the green forests now only, we will die before age. We should understand that we are living in this world just due to nature. We are just the products of nature and one day we have to surrender ourselves in the lap of nature. The poet has written this poem in defense of natural conservation because he thinks that we get some important human aspects from the trees. The poplars represent the forest. When we preserve the trees we can get shades and pillars for houses. Birds live there and they sing some melodious songs, which make our lives joyful. The poet compares the tree with human life and says our lives are more perishable than the trees. We are destroyed by the nature. So we should defend the nature.