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The Owl and The Nightingale

The document summarizes key elements of the poem "The Owl and the Nightingale". It describes the poem as being composed of rhyming octosyllabic couplets. It also notes that the poem is rife with imagery, alliteration, and assonance. The animals' defense is founded on self-praise, as each bird justifies its own behaviors and attempts to show benefits. Translations of select lines are also provided to illustrate elements like the animals beginning their debate and criticism of each other's appearances.

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Oli
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174 views1 page

The Owl and The Nightingale

The document summarizes key elements of the poem "The Owl and the Nightingale". It describes the poem as being composed of rhyming octosyllabic couplets. It also notes that the poem is rife with imagery, alliteration, and assonance. The animals' defense is founded on self-praise, as each bird justifies its own behaviors and attempts to show benefits. Translations of select lines are also provided to illustrate elements like the animals beginning their debate and criticism of each other's appearances.

Uploaded by

Oli
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Owl and the Nightingale

Style and form


The text is composed of rhyming octosyllabic couplets
Modern English translation:
Þe bloſtme. gynneþ ſpringe & ſpred The blossoms quickly spring and swell
Boþe in treo & ek in mede. on every tree and in the dell:
Þe lilie myd hire fayre ylite. The lilies with their pure white glow
Welcomeþ me myd þeyh þu hit wite. Welcome me – as well you know-
Bid me myd hire fayre bleo. And bid me by their handsome hues
Þat ich ſchulle to hire fleo. to come to them whenever I choose.
[lines 437-442]

The poem is also rife with imagery, alliteration, and assonance.


Modern English translation:
Þe Nihtegale bigon þo ſpeke The Nightingale began the match
In one hurne of one beche Off in a corner, on a fallow patch,
& sat vp one vayre bowe. sitting high on the branch of a tree
Þat were abute bloſtome ynowe. Where blossoms bloomed most handsomely
In ore vaſte þikke hegge. above a thick protective hedge
Imeynd myd ſpire. & grene ſegge. Grown up in rushes and green sedge.
[lines 13-18]

The animals' defence is founded on self-praise, as each bird justifies her behaviours and
attempts to show the benefits in her own actions.

Modern English translation:


Þu art lodlich to biholde. You'll be a monster all your days
And þu art loþ in money volde. For you're grotesque in many ways:
Þi body iſ ſcort, þi ſwere iſ ſmal. Your body's short; your neck is small;
Gretture iſ þin heued ne þu al Your head's the largest part of all…
[lines 71–74]

Modern English translation:


& heo beoþ alle for me þe gladdere: And helped by me, however meagerly,
& to þe ſong e beoþ þe raddure. They sing out all their hymns more
Ich warny men to heore gode. eagerly.
Þat hi beon blyþe on heore mode. Thus I warn them, for their good,
& bidden þat hi moten iſeche. to contemplate in a joyful mood,
Þat ilche ſong þat euer if eche.[lines and bid them to seek earnestly
736-742] the hymn that rings eternally.

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