The Owlet
When dusk is drowned in drowsy dreams,And slow the hues of sunset die;When firefly and moth go by,And in still streams the new moon seemsAnother moon and sky:Then from the hills there comes a cry,The owlet's cry:A shivering voice that sobs and screams,With terror screams:--
"Who is it, who is it, who-o-o?Who rides through the dusk and dew,With a pair of horns,As thin as thorns,And face a bubble-blue?--Who, who, who!Who is it, who is it, who-o-o?"
When night has dulled the lily's white,And opened wide the moonflower's eyes;When pale mists rise and veil the skies,And round the height in whispering flightThe night-wind sounds and sighs:Then in the wood again it cries,The owlet cries:A shivering voice that calls in fright,In maundering fright:--
"Who is it, who is it, who-o-o?Who walks with a shuffling shoe'Mid the gusty trees,With a face none sees,And a form as ghostly, too?--Who, who, who!Who is it, who is it, who-o-o?"
When midnight leans a listening earAnd tinkles on her insect lutes;When 'mid the roots the cricket flutes,And marsh and mere, now far, now near,A jack-o'-lantern foots:Then o'er the pool again it hoots,The owlet hoots:A voice that shivers as with fear,That cries with fear:--
"Who is it, who is it, who-o-o?Who creeps with his glowworm crewAbove the mireWith a corpse-light fire,As only dead men do?--Who, who, who!Who is it, who is it, who-o-o?"
Words in this poem
- firefly n.
- Any luminous winged insect, esp. luminous beetles of the family Lampyridæ.
- owlet n.
- A small owl; especially, the European species (Athene noctua), and the California flammulated owlet (Megascops flammeolus). Owlet moth (Zoöl.), any noctuid moth. [Dim. of owl. Cf. Howlet.]
- gusty a.
- Subject to, or characterized by, gusts or squalls; windy; stormy; tempestuous.
- ghostly a.
- Relating to the soul; not carnal or secular; spiritual; as, a ghostly confessor. [OE. gastlich, gostlich, AS. gastlic. See Ghost.]
- foots n.
- The settlings of oil, molasses, etc., at the bottom of a barrel or hogshead. Simmonds.
- glowworm n.
- A coleopterous insect of the genus Lampyris; esp., the wingless females and larvæ of the two European species (L. noctiluca, and L.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Owlet is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #7796; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Madison Julius Cawein, The Owlet, in Poems (1911), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7796, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/cawein-poems/the-owlet.html, id L10926.
Form and metre
The Owlet is 48 lines in 6 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABCCBBA, complete in 3 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.7 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 12% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABBABBBAA dreamsA · dieB · byB · seemsA · skyB · cryB · cryB · screamsA · screamsA
- 2 ABCCBBA oA · dewB · hornsC · thornsC · blueB · whoB · oA
- 3 ABBABBBAA whiteA · eyesB · skiesB · flightA · sighsB · criesB · criesB · frightA · frightA
- 4 ABCCBBA oA · shoeB · treesC · seesC · tooB · whoB · oA
- 5 ABBA-BBAA earA · lutesB · flutesB · nearA · foots · hootsB · hootsB · fearA · fearA
- 6 ABCCBBA oA · crewB · mireC · fireC · doB · whoB · oA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| When dusk is drowned in drowsy dreams, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And slow the hues of sunset die; | 8 | ·····/·· |
| When firefly and moth go by, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And in still streams the new moon seems | 8 | ········ |
| Another moon and sky: | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| Then from the hills there comes a cry, | 8 | ········ |
| The owlet's cry: | 4 | ···· |
| A shivering voice that sobs and screams, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| With terror screams:-- | 4 | ·/˘· |
| "Who is it, who is it, who-o-o? | 9 | ········· |
| Who rides through the dusk and dew, | 7 | ······· |
| With a pair of horns, | 5 | ····· |
| As thin as thorns, | 4 | ···· |
| And face a bubble-blue?-- | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Who, who, who! | 3 | ··· |
| Who is it, who is it, who-o-o?" | 9 | ········· |
| When night has dulled the lily's white, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| And opened wide the moonflower's eyes; | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| When pale mists rise and veil the skies, | 8 | ········ |
| And round the height in whispering flight | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The night-wind sounds and sighs: | 6 | ······ |
| Then in the wood again it cries, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| The owlet cries: | 4 | ·/˘· |
| A shivering voice that calls in fright, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| In maundering fright:-- | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| "Who is it, who is it, who-o-o? | 9 | ········· |
| Who walks with a shuffling shoe | 7 | ····/˘· |
| 'Mid the gusty trees, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| With a face none sees, | 5 | ····· |
| And a form as ghostly, too?-- | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Who, who, who! | 3 | ··· |
| Who is it, who is it, who-o-o?" | 9 | ········· |
| When midnight leans a listening ear | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| And tinkles on her insect lutes; | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| When 'mid the roots the cricket flutes, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And marsh and mere, now far, now near, | 8 | ········ |
| A jack-o'-lantern foots: | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Then o'er the pool again it hoots, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| The owlet hoots: | 4 | ·/˘· |
| A voice that shivers as with fear, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| That cries with fear:-- | 4 | ···· |
| "Who is it, who is it, who-o-o? | 9 | ········· |
| Who creeps with his glowworm crew | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Above the mire | 4 | ···· |
| With a corpse-light fire, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| As only dead men do?-- | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Who, who, who! | 3 | ··· |
| Who is it, who is it, who-o-o?" | 9 | ········· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.