Nay, barren are those mountains and spent the streams; Our song is the voice of **, that haunts our dreams, A throe of the heart, Whose pining visions dim, forbidden hopes profound, No dying cadence nor long sigh can sound, For all our art.
Context: Before these lines, the poet presents man’ traditional romantic view of the birds. In these lines the birds answer the man’ mistaken view and describe their own version of life.
Explanation: In this stanza the nightingales do not agree with the view of man. They say that the mountains from where they come are dull and the rivers are dry. Their song is not inspired by the scenery around but it is the expression of an inner urge which lives in their dreams. Their song is an expression of the heart ache caused by the unfulfilled desires and the long-cherished hopes made false by the treachery of the world of men. Their dreams cannot be translated through the sorrowful rhythm of their song or through deep sobbing.
