The nightingale
-- Speaker (Line 1)

Importance: The poem begins with the naming of this bird. In early modern culture, the nightingale was very heavily associated with the story of Philomela. By naming the bird here, at the very beginning, Sidney prefigures the poem's subject. He also reminds the reader of the motifs of sorrow and song that will permeate the poem.

April bringeth / unto her rested sense a perfect waking
-- Speaker (Lines 1-2)

Importance: The speaker describes the beauty of the seasons changing. Without much sensory detail, he conveys the sense of wakefulness and new beginnings that comes with the springtime. This establishes the poem's setting--not in any particular place, but in a time of change and transformation.

Her throat in tunes expresseth / what grief her breast expresseth
-- Speaker (Lines 6-7)

Importance: The speaker describes the nightingale's song – and introduces the relationship between song and emotion. This stands in directly for the speaker's own motive in creating this poem, which is also...