Summary

“Nutting” begins mid-line, as the speaker reminisces about a day from their youth, “one of those heavenly days that cannot die” (3). On this day they set out from their cottage with a large wallet slung over their back, and “a nutting-crook in hand” (7). They recall heading off into the woods “in proud disguise of cast-off weeds … more ragged than need was,” and stumbling upon a solitary nook, seemingly unvisited by any human before them (9, 14). Here they find hazel trees rising up “tall and erect, with tempting clusters hung” (20).

The untouched serenity of the season causes the speaker to pause in order to fully absorb its beauty. “With wise restraint” they gaze at the feast of nuts laid out before them, but opt instead to lie and play among the flowers (23). This bower, which blesses them with sudden happiness after their long and tiring journey...