Observation and Reflection
The poem explores the importance of observing seemingly mundane moments in order to recognize their profundity. Each stanza calls the reader’s attention to the speaker's active engagement in seeing and observing his surroundings, which leads to his progressively greater understanding and appreciation for nature over the poem.
In the first stanza, the speaker notes his different views outside the window: sometimes he would see the cows stepping around the grass, and sometimes he would “look out to see the field suddenly empty.” This phrasing calls attention to the speaker's limited viewpoint: his perception of the cows is confined to what he can see from his window when he chooses to look. From his point of view, it appears as if the cows have suddenly left, because of the gaps in his perception when he is not looking outside the window. In the second stanza, Line 14 uses the word “appear” to again reinforce this focus on the speaker's unique perspective. The speaker remarks that the cows “appear” to be calm and mysterious “in the long quiet of the afternoon.” This phrasing again reminds the reader that the speaker is only making assumptions or reflecting upon the cows, rather than having a definitive insight into their inner states. The cows only “appear” to possess these qualities, but in reality they may or may not.
In the third stanza, the speaker is compelled by the loud noise “to see” which of the cows may be in pain. This shows the speaker not only making a limited observation regarding the cows, but actively seeking to better understand them. The speaker implicitly recognizes that hearing the cows alone is insufficient to understand the situation, and seeks to use his powers of observation to assess the situation more thoroughly. Echoing this phrasing, Line 22 in stanza five clarifies that the cow’s noise “sounded like pain until” the speaker “could see.” This line subtly shifts the meaning of the previous use of the word “see” in Line 20. Here, the speaker not only physically sees and observes the cow but realizes that the cow is not in pain and comes to a deeper understanding of the cow’s being, beyond its physical appearance. The final stanza culminates with the cow herself observing, and seemingly reflecting upon, the speaker. This conclusion subtly reminds the reader that not only are humans capable of perceiving and reflecting upon nature, but natural beings have their own agency and powers of perception. Across this progression, the speaker comes to understand the cows more deeply. In the first stanza, he would occasionally see and note the cows, which blended into the broader landscape of the field. In the final stanza, he reflects upon the quality of “unadulterated cowness” and thus celebrates the cows’ unique value.
Self-Acceptance and Identity
The cow’s noise represents the theme of self-acceptance. This theme is most prominently explored in the final stanza, which strikingly describes the cow’s noise as an “ancient apologia.” This is one of the few moments in the poem where the speaker shifts from making direct observations regarding his surroundings to reflecting more abstractly on the meaning of the cow’s noise. The word “apologia” refers to an explanation or defense; here, the cow’s noise is an inherent defense of the role of a cow in the natural world, as it announces its presence to the environment. The cow is also described as “pouring out” this apologia, which creates the image that the cow cannot internally contain its own identity but feels the need to express itself to the surrounding environment. The entirety of the fourth stanza, which visually depicts the noise traveling through the cow’s stomach, to its neck, to its head and mouth, again connects the cow’s internal state to the proud noise it makes in the external world. The cow’s contentment with itself, as well as the physical and symbolic power of its noise, prompts the speaker to more fully consider the cow. This is underscored by the final line, when the speaker describes the cow’s gaze as “shocking.” The speaker now sees the cow, and the quality of “cowness” itself, more fully, which is a galvanizing realization.
Notably, the speaker at first mistakenly believes the cow’s proclamation is a noise of pain. This represents the idea that self-expression can sometimes be misinterpreted or even rejected by others. The cow’s motive in making this noise is purely to express its internal state, and the force with which it expresses itself leads the speaker to assume it is hurt. The poem thus subtly encourages readers to express their own identities even if this will lead others to view them in a new light. Here, the cow’s noise is not at first understood by the human, but is inherently understood by the cow. The noise is the physical emanation of the cow’s identity—as the speaker puts it, the cow is announcing its “unadulterated cowness.” Unlike humans in modern society, the cow feels content with its pure or “unadulterated” state and does not feel compelled to change or conform for others. This lends an inspiring and powerful message to the cow’s noise and to the poem in its entirety.
Nature
Collins uses imagery and metaphor to explore the theme of humanity’s inextricable connection to the natural world. The poem focuses on the cows and their broader surroundings, celebrating the beauty and simplicity of nature. It emphasizes color (the blue door, the black-and-white cows, green fields, and gray clouds) and sound (the cow’s striking noise) to create an evocative image of the natural world. The cows are depicted as living in harmony with, and integrated into, nature. This theme is introduced in the first stanza, when the cows are depicted as “stepping all day from tuft to tuft” of grass. The use of the phrase “all day” and the repetition of “tuft to tuft” emphasize the cows’ seamless interaction with the natural world. Later stanzas continue to develop this theme by repeatedly focusing on the visual imagery of the natural world and by detailing the cow’s internal power. In particular, stanza four closely examines the cow’s noise and uses striking diction (“anchored,” “bellowing,” “laboring,” “full-bodied”) to emphasize the boldness of this natural being.
Throughout the poem, the speaker progresses from being relatively disengaged with the cows and the natural environment to contemplating the cows’ agency and the natural environment’s harmony more deeply. The speaker at first glances at the cows occasionally through the window and sees them only being quiet, or having disappeared from the field entirely. The speaker later becomes more interested in the cows upon hearing the loud noise, which serves as a catalyst for the speaker to contemplate the variety and intensity of nature. The final stanza references various elements of the broader environment in Ireland (fields, clouds, hills, and bay), to connect the speaker's reflections regarding the cow’s power and “cowness” to the similarly powerful, unchanging, and unadulterated quality of the natural environment more broadly.
