November

Humorist Thomas Hood obviously didn’t like to see the nights drawing in

1844

Introduction

November weather isn’t always as miserable as Hood makes out. But the sun doesn’t rise until half-past seven in the morning, and it sets just after four o’clock, so the days are a little short.

by Thomas Hood 1799-1845

November

NO sun - no moon!
No morn — no noon —
No dawn — no dusk — no proper time of day.
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member. —
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds! —
November!

by Thomas Hood 1799-1845

From ‘The Poetical Works of Thomas Hood’

Précis

Thomas Hood shares his frustration with the late Autumn month of November, playing on the negative connotations of the opening syllable ‘No’. He laments the long nights, miserable weather, and lifeless countryside of Britain on the edge of winter.

Questions for Critics

1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?

2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?

3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?

Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.

November

Introduction

Précis

Questions for Critics

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