According to Newton, it is justly celebrated beyond all others by European writers for the power of song. The song itself is indescribable, though numerous attempts, from the time of Aristophanes to the present, have been made to express in syllables the sound of its many notes; and its effects on those who hear it is described as being almost as varied as are its tones. In the poetry, nightingale is refferred in faminine gender, in fact, only male can sing...
The nighitngale is a bird who sings of love, but it is also a symbol of the connection between love and death. In the famous love story of Romeo and Juliet, for example, the nightingale's song signifies that the lovers will remain together, but in danger of death. Althouh the song was considered a good omen in some areas, in others it was thought to announce a death or to be the cry for help of a soul in purgatory.
In Christian tradition, the song was said to express a longing for paradise or heaven. According to St. Bonaventure, the last song of the nightingale was its most beautiful because it looked forward to its release from this life. Nightingales were believed always to die at the same time of day as Christ, at 3 p.m., the ninth hour. Because the nightingale was thought to sing with increasing joy at the approach of dawn, it symbolised the Christian soul joyfully anticipting the arrival of Christ, the light.
Nevertheless, it must be a wonderful song indeed that could inspire the muse of great poets as has that of the Nightingale...
References:
http://www.crockerfarm.org/ac/gr3/minstrel/nightingale.html
http://www.dierinbeeld.nl/animal_files/birds/nightingale/
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