Hello. I'm Gill at www.engvid.com, and today we'regoing to do something a little bit different. We're going to look at an English poem. AndI know you're probably thinking: “Poetry, that's too difficult. English prose is hardenough, but poetry, ah no.” But I'm hoping to make you realize that it is possible toread an English poem and to understand it. I've chosen quite an easy, straightforwardone. It's called “The Owl and the Pussy-cat”, which is in the first line, here. And itwas written by a poet called Edward Lear. Edward Lear in 1871. Okay. And Edward Lear was well-known forhis humorous writing, so a lot of his writing is funny, it makes you smile, it makesyou laugh. So, hopefully this poem will do .
That for you. And so, it tells a story. It'sin three sections. This is the first of three sections, and I'm just going to go through itwith you and I will explain any words that I think maybe need explaining, and I hopeyou enjoy it. Okay? So, I'll read it. “The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea”. Okay?Now, the Owl, do you know what an “owl” is? You probably know what a bird is. A bird thatflies? Well, an owl is the kind of bird that is awake at night. It has big, round eyes.If you look it up on Google images, you'll see lots of pictures of owls. Okay? So wehave a bird, here, an owl. And a pussy-cat. I'm sure you know what a cat is. We use theword “pussy-cat”, it's a sort of a comic name or a… An affectionate name for a cat. People say:”Oh, puss, puss, puss. Here, pussy, pussy, pussy.” .
So, it's a name for a cat. And childrenalso say: “Oh, pussy-cat, pussy-cat”. So, “pussy” is a cat, but here, it's beingcalled “Pussy-cat” with a hyphen. So: “The Owl and the Pussy-cat”, so we have abird and a cat. Okay? Which usually, birds and cats don't usually make friends. Usually,the cat is going to attack the bird and kill it, probably. But in this poem, because it'sEdward Lear and because he's being funny, he's put a bird and a cat together, and they'renot just friends, but they're going on a journey together. They're on a trip together,so we'll see what happens, shall we? So: “The Owl and the Pussy-cat went tosea”, on the sea. So even more dangerous. “Went to sea In a beautiful pea green boat”. So,they're in a boat. You know the word “boat” .
On the sea. “Boat”. It's “pea green”. It'snot just a green boat, it's the colour of a green pea, the vegetable that you eat. Littlegreen peas. So it's pea green. We have all sorts of shades of green. Olive green, sagegreen, light green, dark green, pea green. So the boat is the colour of a green pea. Noparticular reason. It just… It just sort of fits for the rhythm, because rhythm isimportant. “In a beautiful pea green boat”, something had to go in there. Okay, so what did they take with them? “Theytook some honey”. You know honey? The sweet stuff that the bees go to flowers and thenthey make honey? Honey, it's like jam, only it's honey in a pot. Very sweet, you put iton the bread and eat it, or you put it in .
The pudding or something. “They took somehoney, and plenty of money”, well that was sensible. They're not very sensible, I don'tthink, going on to the sea in a boat, but at least they've been sensibleenough to take some money with them. Okay, “plenty of money, Wrapped up in a fivepound note.” Okay. Well, here, this is a modern five pound note. It has the Queen on it. Okay?And some of the pictures on the back. Five pound note. But that's quite small comparedwith in 1871, a five pound note I think was a lot bigger than this, and it was a big whitesheet of paper. So much easier to wrap other things in. You wouldn't be able towrap much in this little thing. You can't buy much withthis either these days. .
Anyway, ah: “They took some honey, and plentyof money, Wrapped up”. Wrapped. So if you wrap something up, you put it inside, andyou fold the pieces over and that's wrapped up. Okay? “Wrapped up in a five pound note.” Ijust hope that the honey and the money didn't get all, eww, that would be horrible. I hopethey managed to keep it separate. Anyway: “Wrapped up in a fivepound note.” Right. “The Owl looked up to the stars above”, soit's nighttime and the stars are in the sky, little stars in the sky. Looking upat the sky is very romantic at night. “The Owl looked up to thestars above, And sang”, a singing owl. You see? I toldyou it was funny. This… .
He's not just singing; He's playing a musicalinstrument. “And sang to a small guitar.” I told you it was a bit funny. Well, it'scalled nonsense poetry, that's the technical name for this. Nonsense. So “non” is the negativeprefix. “Sense” and “sensible”. Sense, we try to be sensible. But “nonsense” is theopposite. This is a nonsense poem. Okay. “He sang to a small guitar.” I wonder what anowl sounds like when it's singing. Usually, they just make a hooting sound, like: “Hoot,hoot, hoot”, like that. So hate to think what they sound like when they're singing. Anyway,this is what he sang, which you can tell from the quotation mark. He's singing: “'O lovelyPussy!'” So he likes the cat, which is just as well because they're off in aboat on the sea all on their own. .
“'O lovely Pussy! O Pussy my love'”.So he loves the cat. These two animals thatusually hate each other. “'O Pussy my love, What a beautiful Pussy youare, You are, You are!'” In music, things get repeated, and in poetry, so that's whywe've got: “'You are, You are, You are! What a beautifulPussy you are!'” I think it has been set tomusic, that's the only bit of the music I can remember. So, there we are,that's the scenario. That's the story so far, the Owl singing to the Pussy, who he obviouslyloves. What is going to happen next? Well, we shall see in a moment. .
Okay, so moving on to the second verse.Let's see what happens next. “Pussy”, that's the cat “saidto the Owl”, the bird, quotation mark: “'You elegantfowl!'” Now, “fowl”, can you guess? Is another word for a bird. Okay.But, of course, it has to rhyme with “owl” because this is a poem and a lot of poemshave rhyming in them. “Owl”, “fowl”. Okay? There's quite a lot more in this verse. “Pussysaid to the Owl, 'You elegant fowl!'” “Elegant” is, oh, very smart, looking really good.Okay? “Elegant fowl”. “'How charminglysweet you sing!'” So she loves his singing, she thinksit's sweet and charming. Okay? .
Ah, what happens next? She's proposing tohim. “'O let us be married!'” Now, this is 1871, and in 1871, it was very unusual forthe lady to propose to the man. But this is a nonsense poem, so that's probably why. Andshe's a cat, he's an owl. Anything goes, really. So: “'Let us be married! too long we have'”,what's that? “Tarried”. What's “tarried”? What do you think? It means waited. We'vedelayed, held back. So, waited. And again, “tarried”, “married”, he had to use, “tarried”,really, didn't he to rhyme with “married”? Otherwise, it wouldn't sound as good. So,they've been thinking of marriage for quite some time, apparently, but they've held back forsome reason. Perhaps because they're different species, you know. .
Anyway, let's carry on. “'But what shall wedo for a ring?'” A ring. Okay, first thing you think of when you're getting married: “Ah,must have a ring.” Yeah? Well, some people might think of that first; not everybody.Better not go into more detail on that. Okay. “They sailed away, for a year and a day”,”away”, “a day”, had to happen, didn't it? A year and a day often happensin stories, fairy tales. “To the land where theBong-tree grows.” I don't know if there is such a thing asBong-tree, it just sounds exotic and funny. So: “And there in a wood”, where the treesare growing, in a wood, “a Piggy-wig stood”. A “Piggy-wig” is just a pig, but again, it's aname that children give to pigs. “Piggy-wig”, .
Because Edward Lear, a lot of his poems, childrenenjoyed them. But adults enjoyed them as well. So: “a Piggy-wig stood”, a pig in the wood.Ooh, “wood” and “stood”. “With a ring at the end of his nose.” You know, pigs have ringsin the end of their nose often? Maybe to tie them up to something, which isn't very nice,really. But anyway, he has a ring at the end of his nose. “His nose, His nose, With a ringat the end of his nose.” Same repetition as before. Okay, so perhaps we could all guesswhat's going to happen next, but let's move on to the third and final verse,and we'll… We shall see. Okay, third and final verse. So, another quotationmark, so someone is speaking, either the Owl or the Pussy-cat; we're not sure. “'Dearpig,'” they're speaking to the pig, .
“are you willing to sell forone shilling Your ring?'” Now, the word order is a bit…But: “'Dear pig, are you willing to sell Your ring forone shilling?'” They are offering a shilling. Now, if you don't know what a shilling is,obviously “willing” and “shilling”, it had to happen because they rhyme. A “shilling”was an old coin which we don't have anymore. This is not a shilling, but it's similar.It was a small, silvery coloured coin. This has flattened edges, but it's totally round.Maybe slightly bigger than this. This is a modern 20 pence piece from the U.K. But ashilling was worth a 20th of a pound, believe it or not, before the decimal currency camein. But we won't get into that. That will .
Be another lesson, I promise.Lesson on the old currency. Okay, so they're offering a shilling to thepig for his ring. Okay? “Willing” meaning “I will”, “I am happy to do this”. So: “Said thepig, Piggy, 'I will.'” So yes, he's agreeing to sell his ring in exchange for a shillingcoin. “So they took it away”, they took the ring away, “and were married next day”. Thatwas quick. Oh, of course, if you want to get married, you go to a turkey. Yeah? Do youknow what a turkey is? Another bird. There are lots of birds, here. That's another bird.Now, in the U.K., we eat turkeys at Christmas. It's our traditional bird that we eat. I thinkin America they eat the turkey for Thanksgiving in November, so it's a sort of traditionalbird. Not good news for turkeys, but anyway, .
This turkey apparently hasthe power to marry people. So: “The Turkey who lives on the hill.”Okay? So that was convenient again. So, they get married by the turkey, and then ofcourse, they have to have their reception, their meal to celebrate. So, what do they eat? “Theydined” meaning they had their dinner, “on mince”, which is sortof meat in little pieces. Little pieces of beef, usually.Little pieces of beef that have been cut up into small pieces.”Mince, and slices of quince”. We're rhyming again. A “quince” is a kind of fruit thatgrows on trees. And a “slice”, you cut it, cut it into slices. Cutting into slices. So”mince” and “quince”, why not? It sounds good. .
Main course, pudding, dessert.Yup, sounds good. “Which they ate”, past tense of “to eat”,”they ate with a”, what kind of spoon? “A runcible spoon”. Runcible. Well, they're usinga spoon for their food. At least they're not using their hands. They're using a spoon.It's a runcible spoon. Now, I had to look this up to find out what a “runcible spoon”is, but if you think of a spoon that's like this, but it has pieces cut into it like afork. So it's a combination of a spoon and a fork with pointed pieces, and one edge ofit is sharp so you can cut with it. Okay? That's a runcible spoon. If you look it up,”runcible spoon” on Google images, you'll see lots of picturesof these things. Okay. .
“And hand in hand”, do owls andcats have hands? Never mind. It should be “wing and paw”, shouldn't it? Owlshave wings and cats have paws. But anyway: “Hand in hand”, ah, this iswhy it has to be “hand”, because they're on the sand.It's the rhyming again. “Hand in hand, on the edge of thesand”, so they must be by the sea. The sand is by the sea, so they're right near the seaon the edge of the sand. “They danced by the light of the moon, The moon,The moon, They danced by the light of the moon.” And that's the end of the story. .
So, I think we can devisea quiz on this poem, so if you'd like to go to thewebsite, www.engvid.com, and have a look at the quiz, seeif you've understood the poem, and we'll see youagain soon, I hope. Thanks for listening. Bye.
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Ready for a fun English lesson? Today I’ll teach you English with a funny poem called “The Owl and the Pussycat”! I’ve chosen an easy poem and will read it with you one line at a time, so you can understand everything. You’ll learn vocabulary and gain knowledge about British culture with this classic poem, written by Edward Lear in 1871. Reading poetry and immersing yourself in English culture is a great way to learn the language. So is taking the quiz at http://www.engvid.com/learn-english-with-a-poem/ , and subscribing to my YouTube channel! TRANSCRIPT Hello. I’m Gill at www.engvid.com, and today we’re going to do something a little bit different. We’re going to look at an English poem. And I know you’re probably thinking: “Poetry, that’s too difficult. English prose is hard enough, but poetry, ah no.” But I’m hoping to make you realize that it is possible to read an English poem and to understand it. I’ve chosen quite an easy, straightforward one. It’s called “The Owl and the Pussy-cat”, which is in the first line, here. And it was written by a poet called Edward Lear. Edward Lear in 1871. Okay. And Edward Lear was well-known for his humorous writing, so a lot of his writing is funny, it makes you smile, it makes you laugh. So, hopefully this poem will do that for you. And so, it tells a story. It’s in three sections. This is the first of three sections, and I’m just going to go through it with you and I will explain any words that I think maybe need explaining, and I hope you enjoy it. Okay? So, I’ll read it. “The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea”. Okay? Now, the Owl, do you know what an “owl” is? You probably know what a bird is. A bird that flies? Well, an owl is the kind of bird that is awake at night. It has big, round eyes. If you look it up on Google images, you’ll see lots of pictures of owls. Okay? So we have a bird, here, an owl. And a pussy-cat. I’m sure you know what a cat is. We use the word “pussy-cat”, it’s a sort of a comic name or a… An affectionate name for a cat. People say: “Oh, puss, puss, puss. Here, pussy, pussy, pussy.” So, it’s a name for a cat. And children also say: “Oh, pussy-cat, pussy-cat”. So, “pussy” is a cat, but here, it’s being called “Pussy-cat” with a hyphen. So: “The Owl and the Pussy-cat”, so we have a bird and a cat. Okay? Which usually, birds and cats don’t usually make friends. Usually, the cat is going to attack the bird and kill it, probably. But in this poem, because it’s Edward Lear and because he’s being funny, he’s put a bird and a cat together, and they’re not just friends, but they’re going on a journey together. They’re on a trip together, so we’ll see what happens, shall we? So: “The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea”, on the sea. So even more dangerous. “Went to sea In a beautiful pea green boat”. So, they’re in a boat. You know the word “boat” on the sea. “Boat”. It’s “pea green”. It’s not just a green boat, it’s the colour of a green pea, the vegetable that you eat. Little green peas. So it’s pea green. We have all sorts of shades of green. Olive green, sage green, light green, dark green, pea green. So the boat is the colour of a green pea. No particular reason. It just… It just sort of fits for the rhythm, because rhythm is important. “In a beautiful pea green boat”, something had to go in there. Okay, so what did they take with them? “They took some honey”. You know honey? The sweet stuff that the bees go to flowers and then they make honey? Honey, it’s like jam, only it’s honey in a pot. Very sweet, you put it on the bread and eat it, or you put it in the pudding or something. “They took some honey, and plenty of money”, well that was sensible. They’re not very sensible, I don’t think, going on to the sea in a boat, but at least they’ve been sensible enough to take some money with them. Okay, “plenty of money, Wrapped up in a five pound note.” Okay. Well, here, this is a modern five pound note. It has the Queen on it. Okay? And some of the pictures on the back. Five pound note. But that’s quite small compared with in 1871, a five pound note I think was a lot bigger than this, and it was a big white sheet of paper. So much easier to wrap other things in. You wouldn’t be able to wrap much in this little thing. You can’t buy much with this either these days. Anyway, ah: “They took some honey, and plenty of money, Wrapped up”. Wrapped. So if you wrap something up, you put it inside, and you fold the pieces over and that’s wrapped up. Okay? “Wrapped up in a five pound note.” I just hope that the honey and the money didn’t get all, eww, that would be horrible. I hope they managed to keep it separate. Anyway: “Wrapped up in a five pound note.” Right. “The Owl looked up to the stars above”, so it’s nighttime and the stars are in the sky, little stars in the sky. Looking up at the sky is very romantic at night. “The Owl looked up to the stars above, And sang”, a singing owl. You see? I told you it was funny.
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