With Birds You’re Never Lonely (AQA GCSE English Literature)

Each poetry anthology at GCSE contains 15 poems, and in your exam question you will be given one poem – printed in full – and asked to compare this printed poem to another. As this is a closed-book exam, you will not have access to the second poem, so you will have to know it from memory. Fifteen poems is a lot to revise. However, understanding four things will enable you to produce a top-grade response:

• The meaning of the poem
• The ideas and messages of the poet 
• How the poet conveys these ideas through their methods
• How these ideas compare and contrast with the ideas of other poets in the anthology

Below is a guide to Raymond Antrobus's poem “With Birds You're Never Lonely”, from the Worlds and Lives anthology. It includes:

• Overview: a breakdown of the poem, including its possible meanings and interpretations
• Writer’s methods: an exploration of the poet’s techniques and methods
• Context: an exploration of the context of the poem, relevant to its themes
• What to compare it to: ideas about which poems to compare it to in the exam

In order to answer an essay question on any poem, it is vital that you understand what it is about. This section includes:

• The poem in a nutshell
• A “translation” of the poem, section-by-section
• A commentary of each of these sections, outlining Raymond Antrobus's intention and message

“With Birds You're Never Lonely” in a nutshell:

“With Birds You're Never Lonely”, written by the twentieth-century poet Raymond Antrobus, examines, via a speaker who is deaf, London’s urban world and compares this to a rural community in New Zealand, in order to comment on the way disconnections with the natural world can isolate people.

“With Birds You're Never Lonely” breakdown

Lines 1–3

“I can’t hear the barista

over the coffee machine.

Spoons slam, steam rises.”  

Translation

• The poem begins describing a modern London coffee shop
• The shop is described as noisy and busy

Antrobus's intention

• The first two lines of the poem open in media res, describing the noise of the shop:
• The background noise is intrusive and makes communication difficult
• The coffee shop is described in sensory imagery to bring the scene to life, creating an immediacy which contributes to a sense of busyness

Lines 4–6

“I catch the eye of a man

sitting in the corner

of the cafe reading alone” 

Translation

• The speaker observes a man in the coffee shop and notices they are alone

Antrobus's intention

• The first-person perspective allows Antrobus to focus on significant details
• The speaker uses non-verbal communication to “catch the eye of a man” 
• Here, Antrobus introduces the idea of solitude, as he introduces a man sitting by himself 

Lines 7–9

“about trees which is, incidentally,

all I can think about

since returning.” 

Translation

• The speaker returns to their own thoughts as they notice the man is reading about trees
• The speaker introduces a memory that has had great impact on them

Antrobus's intention

• Antrobus's speaker returns to their own thoughts as they are reminded of a significant event:
• The man’s book, which is about trees, is connected to the memory of a place they visited
• This, in turn, creates a connection between the speaker and the man

Lines 10–11

“Last week I sat alone

on a stump, deep in Zelandia forest” 

Translation

• The speaker is reminded of when he was alone in a forest the week before
• He was in New Zealand, sitting on the stump of a tree

Antrobus's intention

• The speaker describes the forest as “deep” to conjure up images of a wilderness
• The image of being alone in a deep forest conveys the significance of the experience  

Lines 12–14

“with sun-syrupped Kauri trees

and brazen Tui birds with white tufts

and yellow and black beaks.”

Translation

• The speaker closely describes the plants and animals in New Zealand

Antrobus's intention

• Antrobus uses natural imagery to describe New Zealand
• Antrobus's speaker remembers the vibrancy and sensuality of nature:
• For example, the metaphor of the “sun-syrupped” Kauri trees suggests that the sun has coated the trees in sweet luxury

Lines 15–18

“They landed by my feet, blaring so loudly

I had to turn off my hearing aids.

When all sound disappeared, I was tuned

into a silence that was not an absence.”  

Translation 

• The speaker describes the intrusive sounds of the forest in New Zealand
• They say the birds were so loud they had to turn off their hearing aid:
• This is the first time the reader learns that the speaker is deaf
• This allows the speaker to reconnect with nature, as they are able to “tune in”
• He describes it positively, saying the silence was not uncomfortable or lonely

Antrobus's intention

• Antrobus describes the sounds of the forest to contrast the sounds of modern London
• Antrobus conveys the sense of immersion and comfort found in the natural world:
• Nature is shown to be a powerful presence rather than an absence, and the verb “tuned” suggests the speaker is harmonising with nature 

Lines 19–26

“As I switched sound on again,

silence collapsed.

The forest spat all the birds back,

and I was jealous— 

the earthy Kauri trees, their endless

brown and green trunks of sturdiness.

I wondered what the trees

would say about us?

What books would they write

if they had to cut us down?”

Translation 

• The speaker explains that when they switched the hearing aid back on the silence ended
• The forest came alive with uncomfortable noise again
• The speaker appears to be jealous of the natural world – of the unhearing trees
• Nature is described as resilient and eternal
• The speaker questions an alternative perspective: they ask what nature may think of humans 

Antrobus's intention

• Antrobus changes tone here as negative emotions are implied
• The forest seems angry as it “spits” the sound of the birds and the speaker expresses jealousy towards the unhearing trees
• Antrobus begins to raise questions about the impact of humans on the natural world 

Lines 27–31

“Later, stumbling from the forest I listened

to a young Maori woman.

She could tell which bird chirped,

a skill she learned from her grandfather

who said with birds you’re never lonely.” 

Translation 

• The speaker recalls meeting an indigenous woman in New Zealand
• The speaker explains the close connection she has with the natural world:
• She knows the sounds of the birds very well
• This knowledge is passed down through the generations
• The speaker remembers something she said: that being a part of nature brings a sense of comfort and belonging

Antrobus's intention

• Antrobus shows how the trip impacted the speaker:
• They stumble from the forest, implying, perhaps, either their vulnerability in nature or how shaken they were 
• The poet conveys the connection the Maori people have with nature
• Antrobus also implies a sense of belonging and of family, as the speaker refers to a legacy of knowledge about the natural world
• The title of the poem is repeated to emphasise the idea of a close relationship between humans and nature

Lines 32–35

“In that moment I felt sorry

for any grey tree in London,

for the family they don’t have,

the Gods they can’t hold.”

Translation 

• The speaker returns to the present and to London
• The speaker expresses remorse at the way urban London has made the trees “lonely” as they have so few birds around them
• He expresses pity for the trees, as they are lonely and isolated

Antrobus's intention

• Antrobus contrasts the bright colours of the forest with the description of the “grey” trees in London to highlight ideas about urbanisation
• Antrobus uses emotive language to convey remorse about the impact of humans on the natural world
• Antrobus ends the poem on a bleak note:
• The trees, he says, are without family or spirituality 
• He implies the urban world brings isolation 
• The poem therefore concludes again with the idea of connection
• The final line suggests that humanity does not respect nature enough (we see ourselves as gods, rather than seeing god in nature)

Although this section is organised into three separate sections – form, structure and language – it is always best to move from what the poet is presenting (the techniques they use; the overall form of the poem; what comes at the beginning, middle and end of a poem) to how and why they have made the choices they have. 

Focusing on the poet’s overarching ideas, rather than individual poetic techniques, will gain you far more marks. Crucially, in the below sections, all analysis is arranged by theme, and includes Raymond Antrobus's intentions behind his choices in terms of:

• Form
• Structure
• Language

Form

The poem is written in couplets to signify ideas related to harmony and togetherness. However, Antrobus disrupts this rhythm to highlight concerns about relationships between humans and a connection with the natural world. 

Theme	Evidence	Poet’s intention
Home and heritage	The poem is written in couplets: This is repeated across 17 stanzas	The form reflects ideas related to harmony between human beings and the natural world:  The couplets throughout the poem signify Antrobus's themes of community and family
	The last line stands alone: “the Gods they can’t hold.”	The last line, which describes the London trees as without religion, is isolated and ends the poem with Antrobus's unresolved concerns about the solitude of the urban world
	The poem’s long and repetitive form conveys ideas about legacy and human connections with nature, as well as the isolation felt in urban London

Structure

Antrobus's poem presents the confused thoughts of a speaker describing life in London compared to life in a rural community. The poem’s structure indicates tensions, as the speaker reflects on a disconnected relationship between humans and the natural world.

Theme	Evidence	Poet’s intention
Disconnected relationships	At first the lack of rhyme contributes to a reflective tone: Enjambment mimics the speaker’s rambling thoughts	Antrobus's speaker sounds calm as their reflections shift between London and New Zealand
	Antrobus reflects the changing emotions of the speaker when he uses a dash to alter the rhythm: “and I was jealous—”	The shift in tone introduces negative emotions about the disconnected relationship between humans and nature
	The speaker asks two rhetorical questions to highlight their reflections	Antrobus raises questions about what nature would think of humans’ behaviour
	The poem’s irregular structure reflects a rambling inner monologue, as the speaker considers the tensions between human beings and the natural world

Language

“With Birds You’re Never Lonely” is a reflection on communication between humans and nature. Antrobus compares London and New Zealand, highlighting the togetherness and harmony found in the rural world in contrast with the isolation of the urban world. 

Theme	Evidence	Poet’s intention
Relationships with the world	Antrobus employs sensory imagery to compare London and New Zealand: He contrasts a coffee shop, where the “spoons slam” and steam rises with a forest of “sun-syrupped Kauri trees” where birds are “blaring so loudly”	Antrobus focuses on the speaker’s personal response to London’s modern life and the equally immersive life of the forest they remember being in in New Zealand
	Antrobus uses imagery to contrast the gloom of urban London and the vibrant life in the forest: The speaker describes the birds “with white tufts/and yellow and black beaks” compared with the “grey tree” in London	The poem contrasts the colourful rural forest in New Zealand with the gloom of the city in order to highlight the speaker’s response to the different worlds
	The speaker relates how a Maori woman offers advice through a metaphor: “with birds you’re never lonely”   The title of the poem draws attention to this idea	The speaker suggests the rural world brings harmony, a sense of belonging and a closer connection with nature
	Antrobus focuses on how trees bring life to a place:  He compares the resilience of “the earthy Kauri trees, their endless/brown and green trunks of sturdiness” with soulless trees in London	The poem centres around the way trees and birds can offer human beings comfort in the form of company Antrobus describes trees as an indicator of the harmony and togetherness in a community
	Antrobus also explores how sound connects an individual to the world: In this poem, sound is confusing and disruptive	The suggestion is that peace and harmony can be found in absence as well as presence: The absence of sound does not have to be isolating
	The poem offers a positive perspective on humans’ relationship with the natural world, while simultaneously offering a warning about the isolation that results if that relationship is lost

Examiners repeatedly state that context should not be considered as additional factual information: in this case, it is not random biographical information about Raymond Antrobus that is unrelated to the ideas in “With Birds You’re Never Lonely”. The best way to understand context is as the ideas and perspectives explored by Antrobus in the poem that relate to worlds and lives. This section has therefore been divided into two relevant themes that Antrobus explores:

• Home and heritage
• Relationships with the world

Home and heritage  

• Raymond Antrobus was born in London in 1986 to a Jamaican father and an English mother:
• This is reflected in the way that Antrobus centres the poem around two cultures
• His poem describes a modern London coffee shop and a forest in New Zealand
• The poem focuses on the solitude the narrator (who is deaf) experiences in a London coffee shop, unable to hear over the sounds of the barista (the person making the coffee)
• His speaker describes London as “grey” and implies the city lacks the comfort of community, family and spirituality that trees and birds bring
• The poem refers to Maori culture, wherein families pass down knowledge about the natural world:
• The grandfather teaches his grandchildren how to communicate with their world
• Antrobus therefore implies the importance of legacy and family

Relationships with the world  

• Raymond Antrobus was born deaf (his condition was diagnosed when he was six years old)
• He works with deaf children in schools, helping them engage with the sound of language:
• For this reason, communication is a focus of his life
• He therefore refers to “hearing aids” in this poem
• His poem introduces the idea that sound can be overwhelming
• In the poem, Antrobus uses auditory language to convey ideas about isolation or belonging within his environment:
• His speaker describes being “tuned in” to silence
• He says the “silence collapsed”
• His speaker “switched sound on again”  
• He describes the birds “blaring so loudly” and the spoons slamming
• Antrobus also explores the idea of communication between human beings and nature:
• The significance of his trip to New Zealand focuses on the sounds of the forest as the birds communicate with the speaker
• The poem centres around a Maori woman’s words, which have lasting impact 
• Antrobus implies a sense of harmony amongst the Maori people as result of communicating with the birds 

The essay you are required to write in your exam is a comparison of the ideas and themes explored in two of your anthology poems. It is therefore essential that you revise the poems together, in pairs, to understand how each poet presents ideas about worlds and lives, in comparison to other poets in the anthology. Given that “With Birds You're Never Lonely” explores the ideas of disconnected relationships between human beings and nature, the following comparisons are the most appropriate:

• “With Birds You're Never Lonely” and “Lines Written in Early Spring”
• “With Birds You're Never Lonely” and “Like an Heiress”
• “With Birds You’re Never Lonely” and “In a London Drawing Room”

For each pair of poems, you will find:

• The comparison in a nutshell
• Similarities between the ideas presented in each poem
• Differences between the ideas presented in each poem
• Evidence and analysis of these similarities and differences

“With Birds You're Never Lonely” and “Lines Written in Early Spring” 

Comparison in a nutshell:

Both Raymond Antrobus's “With Birds You're Never Lonely” and William Wordsworth’s “Lines Written in Early Spring” present speakers who explore their place in the world. Both poems examine disconnected relationships that affect individuals negatively. However, while Antrobus contrasts an urban and a rural setting, Wordsworth sets his poem in a pleasant pastoral setting. 

Similarities:

Topic sentence	Both poems explore disconnections between human relationships and the natural world
Evidence and analysis	“With Birds You're Never Lonely”	“Lines Written in Early Spring”
	Antrobus reflects on the consequences of the urban world: He observes a man sitting alone  He asks himself what nature may think of humanity’s behaviour	Wordsworth’s speaker reflects on the way humans treat each other: He asks himself “what man has made of man”
	Antrobus's speaker reflects on disconnected relationships: His tone is tense: “The forest spat all the birds back,/and I was jealous—” He feels sorry for London trees The poem ends on a solitary line, reflecting the solitude of the “grey” trees	The speaker’s tone is similarly pessimistic: The emotive language suggests his pain at humanity’s lost connection with each other He says it “grieved his heart” and he has “reason to lament” He repeats his question, which remains unresolved at the end
	Antrobus's poem offers an example of a rural community in touch with nature: “She could tell which bird chirped” He contrasts this with the way London has trees without family or “Gods”	Wordsworth argues that humans have forgotten a “holy plan”, a sacred connection with the universe:  The speaker believes his reflections on humanity are “heaven sent” He believes the universe and God conspire to warn humans
	Both “With Birds You’re Never Lonely” and “Lines Written in Early Spring” explore how external worlds impact on human beings’ inner lives

Differences:

Topic sentence	While Antrobus describes both the dramatic vibrancy of a New Zealand forest and a weak and loveless urban setting, Wordsworth’s Romantic poem describes a calming pastoral scene
Evidence and analysis	“With Birds You’re Never Lonely”	“Lines Written in Early Spring”
	Antrobus shifts from a loud and busy London setting to an overwhelmingly lively forest in New Zealand:  Alliteration draws attention to the “steam” and slamming spoons in the coffee shop The forest is full of “blaring” birds with “white tufts and yellow and black beaks”	In contrast, Wordsworth’s poem describes the simple pleasure and harmony observed in an English grove: The speaker describes how the “flower enjoys the air it breathes” He says he is certain there was pleasure as the “twigs spread out” to “catch the breezy air”
	Antrobus relates the communication between the Maori people and the birds: The Maori woman suggests this prevents loneliness	The speaker personifies “Nature”, representing it as a force that runs through the “human soul”
	Antrobus suggests the natural world and the human world is disconnected:  The “grey” trees in London are without family or religion The speaker describes the way the forest “spat back” the birds	In contrast, Wordsworth explores how living things find joy in simple everyday activities:  He observes the “thrill of pleasure” as the birds play and hop He implies through his sad “lament” that humans may not find similar pleasures in life
	While Antrobus contrasts positive and negative imagery as he explores two cultures, Wordsworth describes a pleasant and tranquil rural setting in order to raise questions about humanity’s relationship with the natural world

“With Birds You’re Never Lonely” and “Like an Heiress”

Comparison in a nutshell:

This is an effective comparative choice to explore individuals’ responses to their worlds. Both poets describe mixed emotions as their speakers observe their surroundings and reflect on humanity’s relationship with nature. However, Raymond Antrobus's “With Birds You’re Never Lonely” examines contrasting cultures, while Grace Nichols’s “Like an Heiress” explores her heritage via the ocean.

Similarities:

Topic sentence	Both poems explore a speaker’s intense emotions as they recall significant memories that bring reflections about the natural world
Evidence and analysis	“With Birds You’re Never Lonely”	“Like an Heiress”
	Antrobus's speaker questions his place in the world as he reflects on a trip: The speaker questions human behaviour toward nature with rhetorical questions The speaker’s broken voice is represented by a dash: “and I was jealous—” The poem is made up of regular couplets but this pattern changes at the end: The poem ends with an isolated line	Nichols's speaker similarly feels mixed emotions as she watches the ocean and recalls her childhood: The sonnet form conveys a deep love which is subverted by the lack of rhyme The speaker uses a dash to interrupt positive observations of nature: “except for the lone wave of rubbish against the seawall - ”
	The speaker’s sadness at the way human beings have lost connection with each other is conveyed through emotive language:  The speaker feels sorry for the London trees He is “jealous” of the forest	Similarly, Nichols's speaker is emotionally affected by her observations:  She states she must “dwell” on what she has seen She expresses concern over the changing nature of her "oceanic small days" and the "fate of our planet"
	The speakers express mixed emotions as they make observations of their surroundings that bring unease

Topic sentence	Both poems comment on the natural world as valuable to human beings
Evidence and analysis	“With Birds You’re Never Lonely”	“Like an Heiress”
	Sensory imagery conveys the strong impression the forest made on the speaker:  The trees are “sun-syrupped” and “earthy” The birds are colourful and bold: “brazen Tui birds with white tufts and yellow and black beaks”	Nichols uses imagery to depict the beauty of nature and the speaker’s connection to it: The speaker describes the close relationship they have with the ocean: Like an “heiress” who is “drawn” to "the light of her eye-catching jewels"
	Antrobus alludes to the legacy of the natural world: The speaker describes the trees as “endless” “trunks of sturdiness” The Maori pass wisdom through the generations to create harmonious relationships: “with birds you’re never lonely”	Nichols alludes to prosperity when she describes how humans and the natural world are connected: The speaker refers to the sun's "burning treasury" This alludes to great wealth, attributing value to natural elements
	Both poems describe the natural world as having a positive impact on human beings

 Differences:

Topic sentence	Raymond Antrobus's poem “With Birds You’re Never Lonely” compares a New Zealand forest with a London coffee shop, while Grace Nichols focuses her poem, “Like an Heiress”, on the Atlantic Ocean
Evidence and analysis	“With Birds You’re Never Lonely”	“Like an Heiress”
	Antrobus reflects on the way the natural world brings harmony and community to human beings: The coffee shop is described as busy, yet isolating A man sits alone while the barista shouts and the “spoons slam” The London trees are described as lonely and “grey”, without spirituality or family	Nichols's speaker, however, focuses on the way humans have polluted the ocean she remembers fondly:  However, the volta changes the tone: “But the beach is deserted" She lists objects in the ocean, such as “used car tyres, plastic bottles” and “styrofoam cups”
	Antrobus describes the forest as a place where human beings can still connect with the natural world: The speaker is comforted even when he cannot hear the birds: “a silence that was not an absence” The speaker relates how communities find comfort in the birds and trees	Nichols’s poem, instead, describes an unsettled and ominous mood:  The ocean had “moodswings” as it “tossed back” debris The speaker seeks “sanctuary” in “air-conditioned coolness”
	The speaker in Antrobus's poem finds hope and solace in a forest despite his concerns with his urban London world, while Nichols's poem is a comment on the result of humanity’s disconnections with the natural world

“With Birds You’re Never Lonely” and “In a London Drawing Room” 

Comparison in a nutshell:

Both Raymond Antrobus's “With Birds You're Never Lonely” and George Eliot’s “In a London Drawing Room” explore contrasts between the natural world and the world of humans. While Antrobus compares two modern worlds, urban London and rural New Zealand, Eliot’s Victorian poem describes London as changing as a result of industrialisation.

Similarities:

Topic sentence	Both poems highlight disconnected relationships as a result of an urbanised world
Evidence and analysis	“With Birds You’re Never Lonely”	“In a London Drawing Room”
	Antrobus compares urban and rural life using contrasting imagery: The speaker misses the  “sun-syrupped” and “earthy” trees with “brown and green trunks of sturdiness” of rural New Zealand The speaker compares this to the “grey” trees in London	Correspondingly, Eliot contrasts the urban environment with natural imagery to convey how the natural world is obscured from view:  The speaker compares the wall of houses with “solid fog” The speaker describes how the buildings block the sun so “all is shadow” and “the golden rays/Are clothed in hemp”
	Antrobus's poem considers disconnected human relationships, describing the city as isolating:  Personification of the “grey tree” contributes to the idea of its loneliness The speaker feels sorry “for the family they don’t have” The speaker describes the solitude of London: He sees a man “sitting in the corner of the cafe reading alone”	Eliot also comments on the way the industrialised world creates disconnected relationships: The individuals are hidden from view: “The wheels are hurrying too, cabs, carriages/All closed, in multiplied identity” The speaker uses personification to allude to the way London life lacks comfort as nobody can “rest a little on the lap of life”
	The poets both comment on the way the natural world offers joy and comfort to humans in comparison to an urban world, which is devoid of joy, variety and love

Differences:

Topic sentence	Antrobus's poem explores a modern perspective in which a connection to the natural world can still be found in rural communities, while Eliot’s poem describes a bleak Victorian London at the time of the Industrial Revolution
Evidence and analysis	“In a London Drawing Room”	“With Birds You’re Never Lonely”
	Antrobus's poem is set in modern, urban London: He uses sensory imagery to describe the spoons as they “slam” and the “steam” as it “rises” The speaker says, “I can’t hear the barista/over the coffee machine”	Eliot refers to the changes observed in London during industrialisation:   The poem describes the smoke that covered London: “yellowed by the smoke” The speaker describes the new transportation that creates a rush on the streets: “The wheels are hurrying too, cabs, carriages”
	Antrobus's speaker finds comfort in the memory of his time in New Zealand: The speaker suggests that rural communities remember their connection with the universe The title of the poem is repeated to remind humans that “with birds you’re never lonely”	Eliot’s poem ends without resolution, using a triple to make a grim conclusion about the city: “With lowest rate of colour, warmth & joy.”
	Antrobus explores the solitude of urban life and the comfort found in traditional, rural worlds, whereas Eliot’s poem examines how urbanisation can lead to a busy and joyless life