Question

‘Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;
And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.’

You may have noticed that in Stanza 1, the images were all connected to a cottage and its surroundings. In Stanza 2 the poem takes us to open spaces, Stanzas 1 and 2 are rich in visual detail.

Answer 1

This stanza shifts the focus from visual images to sounds of nature associated with autumn.

The poet presents a rich soundscape: the gnats form a “wailful choir,” lambs bleat loudly, hedge-crickets sing, the red-breast whistles softly, and swallows twitter in the sky. These sounds create a musical and lively atmosphere, showing that autumn has its own beautiful music, just as spring does.