The Owl, by Alfred Lord Tennyson, was written in England in 1830. The poem takes place in a country village almost two hundred years ago, so some of the words will be new to you. New words are part of the fun of poetry. Some things don’t change, though. In the evening in the country, you can still see owls perched up high, sitting still and watching everything that happens below.

Here is some help with the words.

In this poem, dumb means not making any sound. In 1830, mills powered by wind or water were often used in English villages to grind grain into flour. The turning arms of windmills are called sails. A belfry is a church tower with bells in it. When belfries have open sides, birds like to live there. Milkmaids were women whose job was to milk cows. A rooster was called a cock, and roofs were often made of straw or dried reeds called thatch. A roundelay is little song with repeats.

I hope you’ll enjoy some new words and get a picture in your mind of the village this owl looked out on. I hope you will like the feeling that we still wonder what owls are thinking.

I still remember the wonder of reading this poem for the first time one afternoon in grade school. There is something magical about watching a quiet snowfall as the sky darkens in the late afternoon. Time seems to stand still. Even after the moment ends, some of that peace seems to stay inside of me.

If you are discovering this poem for the first time, how wonderful! If you are returning to it as an old friend, I hope you enjoy it.

The official title of this poem is A Visit from St. Nicholas. It was written in 1823 by Clement Clarke Moore. This beloved poem is more commonly known by its first line, “Twas the night before Christmas.” I hope you enjoy it!