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The Nightingale and the Glow Worm by William Cowper A kind of Aesop’s Fable in verse, about mutual respect among those with different talents.

1782

Music: George Frideric Handel

About this picture …

A nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos). For the song of the nightingale, visit RSPB: Nightingale. For a picture of a glow-worm, see the Indian counterpart to Vincent Bourne’s fable, The Glow Worm and the Jackdaw, in which the poor glow-worm has a hungry jackdaw to deal with and must use a quite different approach.

The Nightingale and the Glow Worm

This Aesop-style fable was composed in Latin by schoolmaster Vincent Bourne (1695-1747) and later translated by his pupil William Cowper (pronounced ‘cooper’), one of Jane Austen’s favourite poets, and a devout Christian remembered for his tireless campaign against slavery. A rather self-important nightingale is taught a lesson in humility and mutual respect by a little glow-worm.

by William Cowper 1731-1800

‘The Nightingale and the Glow Worm’

A NIGHTINGALE, that all day long
Had cheered the village with his song,
Nor yet at eve his note suspended,
Nor yet when eventide was ended,
Began to feel, as well he might,
The keen demands of appetite;

When, looking eagerly around,
He spied far off, upon the ground,
A something shining in the dark,
And knew the glow-worm by his spark;
So, stooping down from hawthorn top,
He thought to put him in his crop.

The worm, aware of his intent,
Harangued him thus, right eloquent:
‘Did you admire my lamp,’ quoth he,
‘As much as I your minstrelsy,
You would abhor to do me wrong,
As much as I to spoil your song;

For ’twas the self-same power divine,
Taught you to sing and me to shine;
That you with music, I with light,
Might beautify and cheer the night.’
The songster heard his short oration,
And warbling out his approbation,
Released him, as my story tells,
And found a supper somewhere else.*

* Like Cowper’s verses on The Jackdaw, this poem is a translation from the Latin of Vincent Bourne (1695-1747), who many years earlier had been Cowper’s master at Westminster School. Aesop’s fable of The Lion and the Mouse tells a similar story of mutual dependence; Ramaswami Raju’s Indian fable of The Glow Worm and the Jackdaw is altogether more practical.

Précis

In Cowper’s poem, a nightingale weary from singing all day was thinking of snacking on a glow-worm when his intended meal spoke up. The glow-worm complained that he brought charm to the night as the nightingale brought charm to the day, and deserved as much respect. The bird was quite won over, and the glow-worm was spared. (57 / 60 words)

Source

From ‘Poems Every Child Should Know’, edited by Mary E. Burt.

About the Author

William Cowper (1731-1800) is remembered today as one of England’s most accomplished poets, admired by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth and Jane Austen. His verse ranges from translations of Classical epics such as Homer’s ‘Odyssey’ to homely and sometimes tongue-in-cheek reflections on English rural life, much of it coloured by his strong Christian beliefs and today recognised as truly groundbreaking. Cowper suffered for most of his life from depression; after three attempts on his own life he was briefly confined to an asylum, and thereafter lived in the home of a friend’s widow, Mary Unwin. Cowper spoke out loudly against slavery, and his verses were often quoted by Martin Luther King. Cowper is pronounced ‘cooper.’

William Cowper

Surprised by Heaven

The Dog and the Water Lilies

The Candidate

A Kitten’s Jest

Winter Wisdom

The Jackdaw

The Nightingale and the Glow Worm

Suggested Music

Organ Concerto No. 13 in F major (Cuckoo and Nightingale)

1. Allegro

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)

Performed by Simon Preston with The English Concert conducted by Trevor Pinnock.

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How To Use This Passage

You can use this passage to help improve your command of English.

IRead it aloud, twice or more. IISummarise it in one sentence of up to 30 words. IIISummarise it in one paragraph of 40-80 words. IVMake notes on the passage, and reconstruct the original from them later on. VJot down any unfamiliar words, and make your own sentences with them later. VIMake a note of any words that surprise or impress you, and ask yourself what meaning they add to the words you would have expected to see. VIITurn any old-fashioned English into modern English. VIIITurn prose into verse, and verse into prose. IXAsk yourself what the author is trying to get you to feel or think. XHow would an artist or a photographer capture the scene? XIHow would a movie director shoot it, or a composer write incidental music for it?

For these and more ideas, see How to Use The Copy Book.

for The Nightingale and the Glow Worm

Poets and Poetry

The Dog and the Water Lilies

William Cowper told Lady Hesketh about a walk beside the river at Olney, and the affecting behaviour of his spaniel Beau.

by William Cowper 1731-1800

Poets and Poetry

A Kitten’s Jest

In ‘Familiarity Dangerous,’ poet William Cowper tells a little tale warning that if you join in the game you play by the rules.

by William Cowper 1731-1800

Poets and Poetry

The Jackdaw

A bird perched upon a church steeple casts a severe glance over the doings of men.

by William Cowper 1731-1800

Poets and Poetry

The Kitten on the Wall

William Wordsworth watches a playful kitten, and makes himself a promise.

by William Wordsworth 1770-1850

Précis

Source

About the Author

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William Cowper

Suggested Music

How To Use This Passage

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