104POETRY AS FIELD GUIDEwhiz, whirl, and “swee.” These terms are metaphoric and strangely ono-
matopoeic yet convey something about how specific species of birds fly.
The poem concisely reflects some of the pleasures of bird-watching; we
know a bird not just by color, shape, and markings but by how it flies,
the variety of its songs and calls, and comparing these collective attri-
butes to those of other birds—a kind of hermeneutic circle. Note too
how the poem slides subtly from the visual (how birds fly) to the aural
(the sound of their flight and, eventually, their calls and songs), which is
also part of the pleasure of a sonnet—recognizing its type, hearing its
distinct rhythm.^34
Clare’s exploration of birds in poetry is no doubt informed by tradi-
tion, but it is also informed directly by his experience. Clare insists
repeatedly in “The Progress of Rhyme” (a 345-line autobiographical
poem on becoming a poet) on the meaning and power of birdsong as an
inspiration for poetry. Recounting an experience of listening to night-
ingales, for instance, he dares to try to reflect the nightingale’s song in
the poem itself.
—‘Chew-chew chew-chew’—and higher still
‘Cheer-cheer cheer-cheer’—more loud and shrill
‘Cheer-up cheer-up cheer-up’—and dropt
Low ‘tweet tweet tweet jug jug jug’ and stopt
One moment just to drink the sound
Her music made and then a round
Of stranger witching notes was heard
‘Wew-wew wew-wew, chur-chur chur-chur
‘Woo-it woo-it’—could this be her
‘Tee-rew Tee-rew tee-rew tee-rew,
Chew-rit chew-rit’—and ever new
‘Will-will will-will grig-grig grig-grig’^35This translation produces near nonsense, and as Rothenberg notes, it is
only remotely like the sounds produced by the bird.^36 These lines do
suggest, however, the variety of the bird’s songs, and even more, Clare’s
desire to forego convention and risk ridicule to capture something at