The Judge Is Like the Owl
poem 699
The Judge Is Like the Owl - fact Summary
Reflects Rural Upbringing and Father
This brief lyric stages a comparison—"The Judge is like the Owl"—framed as a remembered parental remark. Dickinson uses rural details (oaks, barn, amber sill) to make a sly, domestic analogy about authority and its modest claim. The speaker offers the house to an owl on a small condition: a midnight song. The poem reflects Dickinson's rural upbringing and her father’s influence on her imagery and voice.
Read Complete AnalysesThe Judge is like the Owl I’ve heard my Father tell And Owls do build in Oaks So here’s an Amber Sill That slanted in my Path When going to the Barn And if it serve You for a House Itself is not in vain About the price ’tis small I only ask a Tune At Midnight Let the Owl select His favorite Refrain.
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