Stormcock in Elder

Stormcock in Elder Ruth Pitter
This poem is a celebration of a bird (a stormcock to be precise), which the

speaker spies upon through a hole in the roof of his home.

We get the impression first of all that the speaker likes to live a secluded life away
from other people. He lives in a ‘dark hermitage’ so he pretty much hides away
from the world. He is ‘aloof / From the word’s sight and the world’s sound,’ so he
is well away from all news and noise from civilisation.
● The speaker was searching for bread on a shelf which itself seems to be
hidden away; you have to access it through a ‘small door’ and you cannot see its
contents but have to ‘grope[..]’ inside it to find what you are looking for. This
makes the discovery of the bird seem more special; it is as though it has been
hidden way first inside the darkness of the secluded hermitage, and then inside
the small cupboard door of the hermitage itself where again it is dark.
● What the speaker discovers inside these dark places is ‘celestial food’ -
something from heaven which will give him sustenance. The speaker seems to be
having a moment of spiritual joy.
● The strength of the bird’s song is enforced through the repetition of

‘loud’, likewise the word ‘wild’ shows that it has been untamed by man. Words
like ‘glee’, ‘chorister’, ‘pride of poetry’ and ‘glorified’ celebrate the noise made,
bringing to the fore the speaker’s delight.
● While the bird sings proudly, the speaker must spy upon it through a
‘broken roof’; the contrast between something perfect and something broken
suggests that man-made things are less superior than natural things.
● A cumulative effect is created in the third stanza through the way lines
15-17 start with ‘The’ followed by a description of parts of the bird. This builds
up almost like a crescendo in a song, highlighting the rapture the speaker feels.
● Everything about the way the bird sings is presented as being perfect
and glorious: ‘throbbing throat’ (strong & steady movements), ‘breast dewed’
(the dew almost adorns the bird like beautiful jewellery), ‘polished bill’ (it is like
the bird has taken care of its own appearance’).
● Stanza four focuses on the bird’s physical appearance: the eye, which is
associated with being the window to one’s soul is described as ‘large’ making it
seem important. Its importance if further enhanced through the description of it
being ‘ringed’ with an abundance of ‘minion feathers’ which are ‘finely laid’.
● Cadence is created in lines 22 and 23 with the repetition of grammatical

patterns: ‘how strongly used, how subtly made’ and ‘the scale, the sinew, and the
claw’. This rhythm helps to add to the musical quality of the poem which mirrors
the glory felt by the speaker towards the bird.
● Stanza five continues to celebrate the bird’s appearance, this time by

focusing on its feathers, all of which are presented as beautifully working in
harmony with each other, shown through words like ‘merged’ and ‘marrying’.
● Plenty of plosive alliteration is used in ‘bright breast...pinions bright’

which adds to the enthusiastic tone of the speaker and also creates more cadence.
● Rich colours associated with royalty are listed ‘Gold sequins...shower of

silver’ making it seem like the bird is wearing expensive but delicate jewellery.
● The attitude towards the bird changes slightly in stanza six where the
bird is presented as being a chancer, ‘soldier of fortune, northwest Jack’ who
travels around the world to seek his fortune. He is an ‘old hard times’ braggart’ ;
in other words, he has been through hard times but still manages to brag and
show off in spite of this. Indeed the speaker asks the bird that before he burst his
vocal chords (‘ere your bagpipes crack’), he should explain how it is that he still
looks so good even though it is winter. Despite it being February, the bird is ‘full-
fed’ and ‘dressed / Like a rich merchant at a feast’.
● The speaker becomes philosophical in the last stanza and

comments how one half of the world doesn’t understand how the other half live.
This could be an extension of the separation between man and the natural world
which has been symbolised through the crack in the broken roof all the way
through. The speaker has had to spy on the bird through the small opening to see
how it lives.
● More cadence is created through the sibilance and use only of

monosyllabic words in ‘so sing your song and go your way’ - which again adds to
the musical quality of the poem.
● In the last part of the poem the speaker is saying that the bird
should go its own way and continue to smile as brightly as the angel Gabriel,
whilst sitting on a branch of the elder plant, by a broken tile.
● The poem has a fixed rhyming pattern (ababcc) and a uniform

stanza length (6 lines) of 7 stanzas. The long length of the poem and the fixed
rhyming pattern add to the effect of the poem being like a song.
Analysis of language
Questions
How is the separation between man and the natural world presented?
Explore the language used by the poet to depict the nature of the bird. Is the poet
making a metaphorical reference ?

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Stormcock in Elder Ruth Pitter

This poem is a celebration of a bird (a stormcock to be precise), which the

● The strength of the bird’s song is enforced through the repetition of

● Cadence is created in lines 22 and 23 with the repetition of grammatical

● Stanza five continues to celebrate the bird’s appearance, this time by

● Plenty of plosive alliteration is used in ‘bright breast...pinions bright’

● Rich colours associated with royalty are listed ‘Gold sequins...shower of

● The speaker becomes philosophical in the last stanza and

● More cadence is created through the sibilance and use only of

● The poem has a fixed rhyming pattern (ababcc) and a uniform

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