Poor Susan by William Wordsworth (Poem, Summary, Paraphrase & Analysis)

 

Poor Susan

by William Wordsworth

(Poem, Summary, Paraphrase & Analysis) 

Poor Susan

At the corner of Wood Street, when daylight appears,

Hangs a thrush that sings loud, it has sung for three years:

Poor Susan has passed by the spot, and has heard

In the silence of morning the song of the bird.

 

It is a note of enchantment; what ails her? She sees

A mountain ascending, a vision of trees;

Bright volumes of vapor through Lothbury glide,

And a river flows on through the vale of Cheapside.

 

Green pastures she views in the midst of the dale,

Down which she so often has tripped with her pail;

And a single small cottage, a nest like a dove's,

The one only dwelling on earth that she loves.

 

She looks, and her heart is in heaven; but they fade,

The mist and the river, the hill and the shade:

The stream will not flow, and the hill will not rise,

And the colours have all passed away from her eyes!

 

Summary

Stanza 1 Summary:

The poem begins with the setting—a corner of Wood Street in London, where, every morning, a thrush sings loudly. This bird has been singing in the same place for three years, and the poet introduces Poor Susan, a woman who often passes by and hears its song during the early morning silence.

 

Stanza 2 Summary:

As soon as Susan hears the bird’s song, it seems to cast a magical effect on her. The sound stirs something deep inside her, triggering a vivid vision. She imagines seeing a mountain, trees, and shining misty clouds (or vapor) gliding through the city streets (like Lothbury, a place in London). In her mind, she sees a river flowing through the commercial heart of London, Cheapside, transforming it into a natural, peaceful landscape.

 

Stanza 3 Summary:

The song evokes memories from Susan’s rural childhood. She imagines green fields in a valley where she used to walk with her water pail, indicating a past life in the countryside. Her vision includes a single, small cottage—likely her childhood home—which she still cherishes deeply. This memory brings her a sense of comfort and longing.

 

Stanza 4 Summary:

Susan is momentarily transported by joy and memory, her heart lifted by the vision. But then, the vision fades. The mist, the river, the hill—all of it disappears. The imagined colors and scenery vanish from her sight, leaving her back in the harsh urban reality. The emotional shift is abrupt, returning her from imagination to her present sorrow.

 

Line-by-line Paraphrase

1. At the corner of Wood Street, when daylight appears,

→ At sunrise, near the corner of Wood Street in London,

 

2. Hangs a thrush that sings loud, it has sung for three years:

→ A thrush (a bird) perches and sings loudly—it has been doing this for the past three years.

 

3. Poor Susan has passed by the spot, and has heard

→ A woman named Susan regularly walks past and hears the bird singing.

 

4. In the silence of morning the song of the bird.

→ During the quiet early hours, she listens to the bird’s song.

 

5. It is a note of enchantment; what ails her? She sees

→ The music seems magical. What’s happening to her? She begins to see visions.

 

6. A mountain ascending, a vision of trees;

→ In her mind, a mountain rises, and trees appear.

 

7. Bright volumes of vapor through Lothbury glide,

→ She imagines shining clouds of mist drifting through Lothbury (a street in London),

 

8. And a river flows on through the vale of Cheapside.

→ And she imagines a river flowing through Cheapside, as if it were a valley in the countryside.

 

9. Green pastures she views in the midst of the dale,

→ She sees green fields in the middle of a valley.

 

10. Down which she so often has tripped with her pail;

→ She remembers walking down these paths carrying her water pail—something she used to do often.

 

11. And a single small cottage, a nest like a dove's,

→ She pictures a small cottage, snug and peaceful, like a bird’s nest.

 

12. The one only dwelling on earth that she loves.

→ It’s the only home she truly loves—likely her childhood home.

 

13. She looks, and her heart is in heaven; but they fade,

→ As she imagines all this, her heart feels lifted, like it’s in heaven. But then the vision disappears.

 

14. The mist and the river, the hill and the shade:

→ The mist, the flowing river, the hill, and the shadows—everything she imagined—fade away.

 

15. The stream will not flow, and the hill will not rise,

→ The river stops flowing in her mind, and the hill no longer appears.

 

16. And the colours have all passed away from her eyes!

→ All the beauty and colors she saw in her imagination are gone. She's back in her dull reality.

 

Analysis in Detail

William Wordsworth’s “Poor Susan” is a deeply touching poem that explores the theme of memory, displacement, and emotional longing through the experience of a young working-class woman in industrial London. Composed in 1797–98 and rooted in Wordsworth’s Romantic ideals, the poem captures a fleeting but powerful moment of emotional and spiritual transformation inspired by something as simple as a bird’s song. Through Susan’s response to the thrush’s music, Wordsworth illustrates how memory and imagination can temporarily lift the human spirit above the bleakness of urban life.

The poem begins with a description of a thrush singing loudly at the corner of Wood Street, a busy area in London. The setting is significant because it contrasts nature and city life. Despite being in the heart of the city, the thrush’s song is a constant, having sung in the same spot for three years. This natural image is an anomaly in the mechanical, gray backdrop of London. It draws attention to the enduring beauty of nature even in places where it seems almost extinguished. The constancy of the bird's song amidst urban noise sets the stage for the emotional impact it has on Susan.

Poor Susan, the subject of the poem, hears the thrush’s song as she walks by in the morning. Instantly, the sound stirs a flood of memories from her rural past. Wordsworth describes her vision in dreamlike, almost magical terms: she sees a mountain rising, trees appearing, vapors gliding, and a river flowing through what is, in reality, the busy commercial district of Cheapside. These images are not real; they are memories or imaginings superimposed onto the urban scene by the power of sound and emotion. The transformation is not physical but emotional and psychological. The bird’s song becomes a key that unlocks Susan’s inner world—a place of pastoral peace and belonging.

This vision soon narrows to a more personal image: the green pastures of her youth, a path she once walked often with a water pail, and finally a single cottage—a small, humble dwelling she still holds dear. The details of this memory suggest a simpler, more meaningful life, far removed from her present condition. The imagery of the “nest like a dove’s” reinforces the theme of home as a place of safety and purity. It also suggests that Susan has left behind not just a physical home, but a part of herself.

However, this moment of joy and emotional transcendence is fleeting. In the final stanza, the vision fades. The mountain, river, mist, and shade all vanish. The natural colors and beauty that had filled Susan’s eyes are gone. Reality—likely cold, industrial, and harsh—reasserts itself. This return to the present is abrupt and painful, emphasizing the emotional poverty of Susan’s current life. The tone shifts from uplifted to sorrowful, from dreamlike to starkly real. The ending does not offer hope or resolution, but rather reinforces Susan’s condition as one of quiet suffering and emotional loss.

Wordsworth’s portrayal of Susan is full of compassion. She is called “Poor Susan,” not in pity but in sympathy—her poverty is not just material, but emotional and spiritual. She is a displaced figure, likely a country girl who came to the city for work, and now lives far from the beauty, simplicity, and belonging of her origins. The thrush’s song is both a blessing and a curse: it reconnects her with joy, but also reminds her of all she has lost.

Stylistically, Wordsworth uses plain language, natural imagery, and a steady rhythm, all characteristic of his lyrical poems. The poem is written in iambic tetrameter with alternating rhymes, creating a soft and flowing sound that mirrors Susan’s movement from reality to dream and back again. The vivid imagery and emotional depth reflect Wordsworth’s belief in the power of nature and memory to stir deep truths within the human soul.

In conclusion, “Poor Susan” is a quietly powerful poem that reflects Wordsworth’s central concerns: the emotional richness of simple rural life, the spiritual cost of urbanization, and the redemptive—yet painful—power of memory and imagination. Through the figure of Susan, Wordsworth gives voice to the countless unseen individuals in the city, whose silent hearts still carry the beauty of lost landscapes and cherished pasts. The poem invites readers to consider how deeply tied our identities are to place, memory, and the sounds of the natural world.