'O Hollow Hollow Hollow' Summary

The poem begins with Bunthorne introducing his poem as a "wild, weird, fleshy thing; yet very tender, very yearning, very precious." He then goes on to describe the poem as a "hunting song" that is actually a "wail of the poet's heart on discovering that everything is commonplace." Bunthorne encourages his listeners to "cling passionately to one another and think of faint lilies" in order to understand the poem. The poem is full of lush imagery and evocative language, but it is also undercut by a sense of irony and satire. Bunthorne's poem is a commentary on the Romantic poets who idealized the past and rejected the modern world. Bunthorne's poem suggests that the Romantic poets were out of touch with reality and that their poetry was more about style than substance.