The Owl and the Bell
Sang the Bell to himself in his house at home,High in the church-tower, lone and unseen,In a twilight of ivy, cool and green;With his Bing, Bing, Bim, Bing, Bang, Bome!Singing bass to himself in his house at home.
Said the Owl, on a shadowy ledge below,Like a glimmering ball of forgotten snow,"Pest on that fellow sitting up there,Always calling the people to prayer!He shatters my nerves with his Bing, Bang, Bome!---Far too big in his house at home!
"I think I will move.--But it suits me well,And one may get used to it, who can tell!"So he slept again with all his might,Then woke and snooved out in the hush of nightWhen the Bell was asleep in his house at home,Dreaming over his Bing, Bang, Bome!
For the Owl was born so poor and genteelWhat could he do but pick and steal?He scorned to work for honest bread--"Better have never been hatched!" he said.So his day was the night, for he dared not roamTill sleep had silenced the Bing, Bang, Bome!
When five greedy Owlets chipped the eggHe wanted two beaks and another leg,And they ate the more that they did not sleep well:"It's their gizzards," said Owless; said Owl, "It's that Bell!"For they quivered like leaves of a wind-blown tomeWhen the Bell bellowed out his Bing, Bang, Bome!
But the Bell began to throb with the fearOf bringing his house about his one ear;And his people came round it, quite a throng,To buttress the walls and make them strong:A full month he sat, and felt like a momeNot daring to shout his Bing, Bang, Bome!
Said the Owl to himself, and hissed as he said,"I trust in my heart the old fool is dead!No more will he scare church-mice with his bounce,And make them so thin they're scarce worth a pounce!Once I will see him ere he's laid in the loam,And shout in his ear Bing, Bim, Bang, Bome!"
"Hoo! hoo!" he cried, as he entered the steeple,"They've hanged him at last, the righteous people!His swollen tongue lolls out of his head!Hoo! hoo! at last the old brute is dead!There let him hang, the shapeless gnome,Choked with a throatful of Bing, Bang, Bome!"
He fluttered about him, singing Too-whoo!He flapped the poor Bell, and said, "Is that you?You that never would matters mince,Banging poor owls and making them wince?A fig for you now, in your great hall-dome!Too-whit is better than Bing, Bang, Bome!"
Still braver he grew, the downy, the dapper;He flew in and perched on the knob of the clapper,And shouted Too-whoo! An echo awokeLike a far-off ghostly Bing-Bang stroke:"Just so!" he cried; "I am quite at home!I will take his place with my Bing, Bang, Bome!"
He hissed with the scorn of his grand self-wonder,And thought the Bell's tremble his own great thunder:He sat the Jove of creation's fowl.--Bang! went the Bell--through the rope-hole the owl,A fluffy avalanche, light as foam,Loosed by the boom of the Bing, Bang, Bome!
He sat where he fell, as if he had meant it,Ready for any remark anent it.Said the eldest Owlet, "Pa, you were wrong;He's at it again with his vulgar song!""Child," said the Owl, "of the mark you are wide:I brought him to life by perching inside."
"Why did you, my dear?" said his startled wife;"He has always been the plague of your life!""I have given him a lesson of good for evil:Perhaps the old ruffian will now be civil!"The Owl sat righteous, he raised his comb.The Bell bawled on, Bing, Bim, Bang, Bome!
Words in this poem 24
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
- unseen a.
- Not seen or discovered.
- bing n.
- A heap or pile; as, a bing of wood. [Cf. Icel. bingr, Sw. binge, G. beige, beuge. Cf. Prov. E. bink bench, and bench coal the uppermost stratum of coal.]
- pest n.
- A fatal epidemic disease; a pestilence; specif., the plague. [L. pestis: cf. F. peste.]
- quivered a.
- Furnished with, or carrying, a quiver.
- throb v. i.
- To beat, or pulsate, with more than usual force or rapidity; to beat in consequence of agitation; to palpitate; -- said of the heart, pulse, etc. [OE. ; of uncertain origin; cf. Russ. trepete a trembling, and E. trepidation.]
- mome n.
- A dull, silent person; a blockhead. [Cf. Mumm, Momus.]
- scare v. t.
- To frighten; to strike with sudden fear; to alarm. [OE. skerren, skeren, Icel. skirra to bar, prevent, skirrask to shun , shrink from; or fr. OE. skerre, adj., scared, Icel. skjarr; both perhaps akin to E. sheer ]
- bounce v. i.
- To strike or thump, so as to rebound, or to make a sudden noise; a knock loudly. [OE. bunsen; cf. D. bonzen to strike, bounce, bons blow, LG. bunsen to knock; all prob. of imitative origin.]
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- pounce n.
- A fine powder, as of sandarac, or cuttlefish bone, -- formerly used to prevent ink from spreading on manuscript. [F. ponce pumice, pounce, fr. L. pumex, -icis, pumice. See Pumice.]
- gnome n.
- An imaginary being, supposed by the Rosicrucians to inhabit the inner parts of the earth, and to be the guardian of mines, quarries, etc. [F. gnome, prob. fr. Gr. i. e., of the treasures in the inner parts of the earth, or fr. Know.]
- mince v. t.
- To cut into very small pieces; to chop fine; to hash; as, to mince meat. [AS. minsian to grow less, dwindle, fr. min small; akin to G. minder less, Goth. minniza less, mins less, adv., L. minor, adj. (cf. Minor); or more likely fr. F.]
- banging a.
- Huge; great in size. Forby.
- whit n.
- The smallest part or particle imaginable; a bit; a jot; an iota; -- generally used in an adverbial phrase in a negative sentence. [OE. wight, wiht, AS. wiht a creature, a thing. See Wight, and cf. Aught, Naught.]
- dapper a.
- Little and active; spruce; trim; smart; neat in dress or appearance; lively. [OE. daper; prob. fr. D. dapper brave, valiant; akin to G. tapfer brave, OHG. taphar heavy, weighty, OSlav. dobrû good, Russ. dobrui. Cf. Deft.]
- clapper n.
- A rabbit burrow. [F. clapier.]
- ghostly a.
- Relating to the soul; not carnal or secular; spiritual; as, a ghostly confessor. [OE. gastlich, gostlich, AS. gastlic. See Ghost.]
- jove n.
- The chief divinity of the ancient Romans; Jupiter. [L. Jupiter, gen. Jovis, OL. Jovis, nom. & gen. for Djovis; akin to E. Tuesday. See Tuesday, and cf. Jupiter.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- fluffy a.
- Pertaining to, or resembling, fluff or nap; soft and downy.
- avalanche n.
- A large mass or body of snow and ice sliding swiftly down a mountain side, or falling down a precipice. [F. avalanche, fr. avaler to descend, to let down, from aval down, downward; ad) + val, L. vallis, valley. See Valley.]
- anent prep.
- Over against; as, he lives anent the church. [OE. anent, anentis, anence, anens, anents, AS. onefen, onemn; an, on, on + efen even, equal; hence meaning, on an equality with, even with, beside. See Even, a.]
- 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.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Owl and the Bell is in the public domain. This text is taken from The poetical works of George MacDonald in two volumes — Volume 2, Project Gutenberg ebook #9984; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: George MacDonald, The Owl and the Bell, in A Microcosm in Terza Rima, and Other Poems (1893), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9984, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/macdonald-poems/the-owl-and-the-bell.html, id L22281.
Form and metre
The Owl and the Bell is 77 lines in 13 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is AABBCC, complete in 11 of its 13 stanzas. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic tetrameter.
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 ABBAA homeA · unseenB · greenB · bomeA · homeA
- 2 AABBCC belowA · snowA · thereB · prayerB · bomeC · homeC
- 3 AABBCC wellA · tellA · mightB · nightB · homeC · bomeC
- 4 AABBCC genteelA · stealA · breadB · saidB · roamC · bomeC
- 5 AABBCC eggA · legA · wellB · bellB · tomeC · bomeC
- 6 AABBCC fearA · earA · throngB · strongB · momeC · bomeC
- 7 AABBCC saidA · deadA · bounceB · pounceB · loamC · bomeC
- 8 AABBCC steepleA · peopleA · headB · deadB · gnomeC · bomeC
- 9 AABBCC whooA · youA · minceB · winceB · domeC · bomeC
- 10 AABBCC dapperA · clapperA · awokeB · strokeB · homeC · bomeC
- 11 AABBCC wonderA · thunderA · fowlB · owlB · foamC · bomeC
- 12 AABBCC itA · itA · wrongB · songB · wideC · insideC
- 13 AA--BB wifeA · lifeA · evil · civil · combB · bomeB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sang the Bell to himself in his house at home, | 11 | ····˘/····· |
| High in the church-tower, lone and unseen, | 10 | ····/˘··˘/ |
| In a twilight of ivy, cool and green; | 10 | ··/··/˘··· |
| With his Bing, Bing, Bim, Bing, Bang, Bome! | 8 | ········ |
| Singing bass to himself in his house at home. | 11 | /˘··˘/····· |
| Said the Owl, on a shadowy ledge below, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Like a glimmering ball of forgotten snow, | 10 | ··/˘··˘/˘· |
| "Pest on that fellow sitting up there, | 9 | ···/˘/˘·· |
| Always calling the people to prayer! | 9 | /˘/˘·/˘·· |
| He shatters my nerves with his Bing, Bang, Bome!--- | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Far too big in his house at home! | 8 | ········ |
| "I think I will move.--But it suits me well, | 10 | ·········· |
| And one may get used to it, who can tell!" | 10 | ·········· |
| So he slept again with all his might, | 9 | ···˘/···· |
| Then woke and snooved out in the hush of night | 10 | ·········· |
| When the Bell was asleep in his house at home, | 11 | ····˘/····· |
| Dreaming over his Bing, Bang, Bome! | 8 | /˘······ |
| For the Owl was born so poor and genteel | 10 | ········˘/ |
| What could he do but pick and steal? | 8 | ········ |
| He scorned to work for honest bread-- | 9 | ··˘···/˘· |
| "Better have never been hatched!" he said. | 10 | /˘·/˘··˘·· |
| So his day was the night, for he dared not roam | 11 | ··········· |
| Till sleep had silenced the Bing, Bang, Bome! | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| When five greedy Owlets chipped the egg | 10 | ··/˘···˘·· |
| He wanted two beaks and another leg, | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| And they ate the more that they did not sleep well: | 11 | ··········· |
| "It's their gizzards," said Owless; said Owl, "It's that Bell!" | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| For they quivered like leaves of a wind-blown tome | 11 | ··/˘······· |
| When the Bell bellowed out his Bing, Bang, Bome! | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| But the Bell began to throb with the fear | 10 | ···˘/····· |
| Of bringing his house about his one ear; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| And his people came round it, quite a throng, | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| To buttress the walls and make them strong: | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| A full month he sat, and felt like a mome | 10 | ·········· |
| Not daring to shout his Bing, Bang, Bome! | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Said the Owl to himself, and hissed as he said, | 11 | ····˘/····· |
| "I trust in my heart the old fool is dead! | 10 | ·········· |
| No more will he scare church-mice with his bounce, | 10 | ·········· |
| And make them so thin they're scarce worth a pounce! | 10 | ·········· |
| Once I will see him ere he's laid in the loam, | 11 | ··········· |
| And shout in his ear Bing, Bim, Bang, Bome!" | 9 | ········· |
| "Hoo! hoo!" he cried, as he entered the steeple, | 11 | ······/˘·/˘ |
| "They've hanged him at last, the righteous people! | 10 | ······/˘/˘ |
| His swollen tongue lolls out of his head! | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Hoo! hoo! at last the old brute is dead! | 9 | ········· |
| There let him hang, the shapeless gnome, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Choked with a throatful of Bing, Bang, Bome!" | 10 | ·˘········ |
| He fluttered about him, singing Too-whoo! | 10 | ·/˘···/˘·· |
| He flapped the poor Bell, and said, "Is that you? | 10 | ·········· |
| You that never would matters mince, | 8 | ··/˘·/˘· |
| Banging poor owls and making them wince? | 9 | /˘···/˘·· |
| A fig for you now, in your great hall-dome! | 10 | ·········· |
| Too-whit is better than Bing, Bang, Bome!" | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Still braver he grew, the downy, the dapper; | 11 | ·/˘···/˘·/˘ |
| He flew in and perched on the knob of the clapper, | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| And shouted Too-whoo! An echo awoke | 10 | ·/˘···/˘˘/ |
| Like a far-off ghostly Bing-Bang stroke: | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| "Just so!" he cried; "I am quite at home! | 9 | ········· |
| I will take his place with my Bing, Bang, Bome!" | 10 | ·········· |
| He hissed with the scorn of his grand self-wonder, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| And thought the Bell's tremble his own great thunder: | 11 | ····/˘···/˘ |
| He sat the Jove of creation's fowl.-- | 9 | ·····˘/˘· |
| Bang! went the Bell--through the rope-hole the owl, | 10 | ·········· |
| A fluffy avalanche, light as foam, | 9 | ·/˘/˘···· |
| Loosed by the boom of the Bing, Bang, Bome! | 10 | ·˘········ |
| He sat where he fell, as if he had meant it, | 11 | ··········· |
| Ready for any remark anent it. | 10 | /˘·/˘˘/··· |
| Said the eldest Owlet, "Pa, you were wrong; | 10 | ··/˘/˘···· |
| He's at it again with his vulgar song!" | 10 | ···˘/··/˘· |
| "Child," said the Owl, "of the mark you are wide: | 10 | ·········· |
| I brought him to life by perching inside." | 10 | ······/˘/· |
| "Why did you, my dear?" said his startled wife; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| "He has always been the plague of your life!" | 10 | ··/······· |
| "I have given him a lesson of good for evil: | 11 | ··/··/˘···/ |
| Perhaps the old ruffian will now be civil!" | 11 | ˘/··/˘···/˘ |
| The Owl sat righteous, he raised his comb. | 10 | ···/˘··˘·· |
| The Bell bawled on, Bing, Bim, Bang, Bome! | 9 | ···˘····· |
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