the poplar field by William Cowper Summary

William Cowper the poplar field is a classical poem that calls for the conservation of natural habitat. The attention in the poem is drawn towards reckless felling of trees as the poet has composed this poem in the memory of his favorite poplar field. By the time the poem reaches its climax, the poet not only makes a link between trees and happiness but also connects trees with the continuity of human civilization.

The poem unfolds with the speaker expressing his lamentation at the fact that natural wealth is falling prey at the hands of newer demands of man. The poet, expressing his disappointment at the loss of poplars, says that he dearly misses the wonderful shade provided by poplar trees and the majestic sight of the poplar trees. The poet adds that he also misses the whispering songs of the poplar tree. The loss of poplars also means that the river ouse flowing near by doesn't have the reflection of poplars at the surface of its water. 

It is understandable that the poet is revisiting his favorite poplar field after a yawning gap of 12 years. Upon his arrival at the poplar field, the poet is dismayed to find that all the trees have been cut and are lying low on the ground. Sitting on the stump of a felled poplar the poet understands that all the trees have been cut to fulfill increasing demands of human populations.

The poet proceeds on to visualize the image of black bird which once used to inhabit in the surrounding. The absence of poplars means that these black birds have opted for new shelter, where the poet imagines a black bird hiding a hazelnut to save itself from the scorching rays of the sun. The poet adds that he also misses the melodious songs of black birds as this surrounding will never echo with those melodious songs again.

The poet at the same time feels that he doesn't have enough time to ponder about all the issues because his time is flying at a rapid pace, pushing him to the fag end of his life. The poet feels that his fate is comparable to the poplar trees as very soon like the poplar trees, he too will be lying on the ground. By the time the little trees saplings will get bigger and recreate the earlier beauty of the poplar field, he will be dead, buried and gone.

In the concluding lines of poem, the poet makes a comparison between human life and human happiness, saying that time span of human happiness is much shorter than life span of human beings. He proves this bitter fact of our life with his own personal example as he conclude his poem saying 'short lived as wee are our enjoyments I see have a still shorter date and die sooner than we'.

William Cowper the poplar field can be considered as a defense of nature conservation because reckless felling of trees or deforestation gives rise to natural calamities such as landslide, floods, soil erosion, desertification siltation of rivers, global warming among other environmental issues. Human history has recorded many incidence where our civilization collapsed because we fell to understand the significance of trees. On a more sadder note we are clearing our forest at a more massive rate than any time o our history. Deforestation will ultimately wipe out human civilization, which according to the poet would be the end of all human happiness. In this way, the poet William Cower not only connects trees with perishing pleasure of man but also connects trees with the continuity of our civilization.