Connection of Meter and Wording in Lines 5-8 of "The Cloud"

5 From my wings are shaken the dews that waken

The sweet buds every one,

When rocked to rest on their mother’s breast,

As she dances about the sun.

I found "The Cloud" to be a perfectly delightful poem from the very beginning. The triple meter of this poem seems to compel the reader to keep going, keep reading. Because of the feel, when I reached line 6, I was struck by how perfectly the word “rocked” felt for this meter.

For me, this entire poem feels as if I am being rocked in someone’s arms or on a boat on the ocean. It’s a very primal feeling, one that comforted us when we were babies and that we may now go out of our ways to achieve (we have chairs designed especially for this purpose!).

The word “rocked” is describing here the motions of Earth as she cares for her “sweet buds.” Shelley extends the “mother Earth” metaphor further in the next line, showing the joy of the new mother by using the verb “dance.”

The use of the word “dance” here is counter to the use of the word “rocked” in the line before- they are totally different movements and she seems to be doing both at the same time. Perhaps Earth is so happy that it’s spring that she can’t help but dance!

Finally, these lines seem to underline the whole transcendent nature of the poem for me. The cloud is described as having “wings” and, instead of being taken to Earth with the rain, remains above like a bird. The cloud seems not to be able to even take part in either goodness or evil on Earth, but must fly high, not as a judge, but as an impartial observer and a participant in natural events.