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The Owl - Philip Edward Thomas

This document summarizes and analyzes the poem "The Owl" by Philip Edward Thomas. It discusses how the speaker, who is hungry but not starving, comes down from a hill while his comrades remain above. An owl's cry reminds him of his comrades' suffering and causes him great remorse, as he realizes he has escaped hardship by finding food and rest in an inn while they remain in danger. The owl's cry cannot be "barred out" from disturbing him and "salts" his food, making it unpleasant to eat due to his guilt over abandoning his fellow soldiers.

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Taibur Rahaman
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11K views2 pages

The Owl - Philip Edward Thomas

This document summarizes and analyzes the poem "The Owl" by Philip Edward Thomas. It discusses how the speaker, who is hungry but not starving, comes down from a hill while his comrades remain above. An owl's cry reminds him of his comrades' suffering and causes him great remorse, as he realizes he has escaped hardship by finding food and rest in an inn while they remain in danger. The owl's cry cannot be "barred out" from disturbing him and "salts" his food, making it unpleasant to eat due to his guilt over abandoning his fellow soldiers.

Uploaded by

Taibur Rahaman
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Owl--Philip Edward Thomas.

1. Downhill I came, hungry, yet not starved... who says this? Why does the speaker
contrast hungry with starved?
The speaker here is the poet himsel.
This poem is a true representation o a mans inner conlict. The speaker under certain condition
came down laden with hunger and atigue, while his comrades were on the hill. !e wanted ood
and rest "ut elt penitent or his desires, which he thought were selish "ecause he was not so
hungry that he would have died that night.

#. $ut one telling me plain ....escaped.... who was the one reerred to here? %&plain what
was told "y the one?
The one reerred to here is the cry o the 'wl.
The cry o the owl rever"erated across the hill and spoke on "ehal o the poets comrades. The
poet in its melancholy and piercing cry ound himsel penitent or his coming down to a shelter
leaving his comrades on the hill. !e elt that or the time "eing he had escaped the clutches o
death while the poor soldiers waited their imminent ate.
(. )ll o the night was *uite "arred out... what is the meaning o )ll o the night? To
whom was it "arred out and why?
The poet "y this e&pression wanted to convey the intensity o suering and eventual death that
night could have "rought on him. )ll o the night stood or hunger, cold, atigue and death that
night.
!e had come down and procured himsel ood and rest in an inn. !e had paid or those amenities
and so the suering o that night was restricted rom reaching him.
+. ...%&cept an 'wls cry... Why wasnt the owls cry "arred out?
)midst his rugal amenities, which he thought the sweetest thing under a roo, the poet ound that
the owls cry couldnt "e "arred out. !e, "eing a sensitive poet, took its cry as the call o his own
conscience that seemed reproaching him or "eing so weak and selish.
,. )nd salted was my ood..."y the "irds voice. In what sense does the poet use the word
salted? !ow was his ood salted "y the "irds voice?
The poet was too hungry to dierentiate "etween tasty and vile ood. !e was also atigued and
desperately needed rest. )t such an hour the cry o the "ird raised a storm inside his sensitive
mind.
!e elt that at his ood and rest were salted in the sense that they "ecame o"no&ious to him. !e
could neither ulil his hunger nor lie down on the couch, as he suered scruples which let him
utterly disappointed and "roken.
-. !ow does the call o the owl aect the poet? '. What is the signiicance o the title
The 'wl?
The owl "eing nocturnal has long "een considered a sinister creature that calls upon misery,
adversity and death. These sym"ols work upon the poet as the mirror o his conscience, as he
realised that his needs were the relection o a weak and selish mind rather than o a sensitive
poet. !e elt that he had "etrayed his comrades "y coming down to the comort o a secured
place, while they awaited their imminent doom.

/. Descri"e the situation in the poem The 'wl.
The poet, %dward Thomas, came down the hill in search o ood and rest, "eing utterly atigued
and hungry. !e got what he needed in an inn and all that stood or agony that night were
restricted. !owever, an owls cry penetrated the num" darkness and hit him hard on his
conscience. It spoke on "ehal o the unortunate soldiers who had no comort that night "ut to
ight in the cold and die. The poet could neither eat nor sleep as his soul ell apart in remorse.
T)I$0. .)!)1)2
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