Afternoon With Irish Cows Essay Questions

Discuss the significance of the poem's title, "Afternoon with Irish Cows," in relation to the poem's content. How does the setting and location contribute to the overall atmosphere and themes of the poem?

The title “Afternoon with Irish Cows” provides critical context and information about the poem's subject matter. The title is the only specific reference to the cows being Irish—without the title, the reader would lack this detail. However, this context is important for multiple reasons. First, it makes the world of the poem more concrete and specific; rather than an abstract, generalized field, the reader recognizes that these particular fields, and the speaker himself, are located in Ireland. This allows the reader to imagine a particular countryside, which in Ireland is often characterized by its lush greenery (giving Ireland the moniker “The Emerald Isle.”) Second, the reference to Irish cows ties Collins’ work into a tradition of Irish poetry and literature. Irish works often engage with the beauty of the natural world and the distinctive Irish countryside. Ireland is particularly known for its “bogs”—semi-waterlogged areas characterized by dead plant matter and moss—but also has sprawling, bright green fields. Particularly in its fifth stanza, “Afternoon with Irish Cows” celebrates the beauty and diversity of Ireland’s natural environment. The cow’s cry extends beyond the “green fields” to the “limestone hills” and “blue bay,” depicting Ireland as a colorful tapestry of natural landscapes. The other component of the title—“Afternoon with”—further contributes to the poem’s relaxed, nostalgic tone. The first three stanzas of the poem expand on this part of the title by depicting the speaker relaxing in their home, glancing occasionally out the window at the field populated by “patient” and quiet cows. Through the word “with,” the title phrase also binds the cows and the speaker together and foreshadows the poem’s focus on the relationship between humanity and nature. The speaker is implicitly spending time with, not merely alongside, the cows. The speaker goes beyond seeing the cows as a backdrop to his country cottage and instead engages deeply with them to recognize and respect the very quality of “cowness.”

What is the poem’s perspective on nature?

The poem has a positive, contemplative, and celebratory perspective on nature. The cows’ environment is first described in detail using words that convey the lushness of the setting—the cows step on “tuft[s]” of thickly-growing, “soft” grass, pointing to the grass’s abundance. The rain that produces this fertile environment is obliquely referenced, as the cows are shown “waiting” for that rain to begin. The final stanza expands on the beauty of the natural setting, discussing the color of the bright fields, the material of the limestone hills, and the inlet of the blue bay. By detailing the cow’s normal routine, and focusing on the power of the cow’s expression of its “cowness,” the poem also implies that part of nature’s beauty stems from its pure, unchanging quality. The cows appear to be satisfied with their state of being, creating a peaceful tone. At the same time, the cows and their noises are also described as “phenomenal” and “shocking,” which demonstrates that nature can be exciting when humans take the time to deeply consider and reflect upon it.

What is the purpose of the poem’s ending?

The poem’s ending inverts the previously-established perspective. While the poem predominantly focuses on the speaker observing the cows, the final lines state that the cow “regarded” the human’s head and shoulders with a “wild, shocking” eye. The word “regarded” means to consider or think of someone in a specific way, so this word choice emphasizes the cow’s autonomy and intelligence. The cow is capable of making a spontaneous and impressive noise simply to express its state of being rather than as a response to pain, as the speaker comes to realize throughout the poem. It is also notable that the cow looked specifically at the speaker's “head and shoulders” above the fence, as this is symmetrical with Stanza 4, where the speaker focused on the cow’s “bellowing head” and “gaping mouth.” This parallelism further serves to place the speaker and the cow on equal ground, with both being capable of appreciating each other and their environment. The use of the adjectives “wild” and “shocking” reinforce that nature can be wondrous and unexpected if we choose to examine it with a fresh perspective. The conclusion marks the speaker's growth from the beginning of the poem—when he lived apart from the cows and only occasionally observed them through his window—to the end of the poem, when he recognizes the power of “cowness.”

The speaker engages color and topographical imagery throughout the poem, but also uses the final stanza to expand these descriptions. The section that is most dense in imagery begins with the conventional description of Ireland’s “green fields” but immediately adds that they are covered by “gray clouds.” Ultimately, the poem ends with a broader portrait of Ireland than can be conveyed by discussing the cows alone, pointing to a broader theme regarding the beauty of nature.