14. Three Wise Old Women (WIP)
Poem Explanation
Last edited 2 hours ago by Learn LoopHQ.
Chapter: 14. Three Wise Old Women
Literary Appreciation
This delightful poem by Elizabeth T Corbett takes us on a wonderfully whimsical journey with three old women who are called “wise,” but whose adventure turns out to be anything but ordinary! It’s a charming and humorous tale filled with silly situations and unexpected twists, reminding us that sometimes the funniest things happen when we least expect them. The poem’s playful language and bouncy rhythm make it a joy to read and imagine.
Summary of the Poem
The poem “Three Wise Old Women” tells the story of three old women who go for a walk on a winter day. Each carries a rather peculiar item: one a basket for berries, one a ladder for cherries, and the “wisest” one, a fan to keep off the sun! They walk so far and so fast that they lose their way. Suddenly, they get frightened, imagining they might meet a bear. Since there are no trees to climb, they decide to climb their ladder. But a strong wind blows the ladder, carrying them out to sea! The ladder then acts like a leaky boat. Being resourceful, they use the basket to bail out water and the fan as a sail. The poem ends playfully, leaving us to wonder whether they ever sailed home or saw any bears.
Stanza-Wise Explanation
1. The Peculiar Walkers
Three wise old women were they, were they,
Who went to walk on a winter day:
One carried a basket to hold some berries,
One carried a ladder to climb for cherries,
The third, and she was the wisest one,
Carried a fan to keep off the sun.
This stanza introduces us to the three “wise” old women. They decide to go for a walk on a cold winter day. We learn about the interesting things each woman carries: one has a basket for berries, another a ladder for cherries (even though it’s winter and cherries aren’t usually found then!), and the third, who is called the “wisest,” carries a fan. This fan seems very odd to carry on a winter day, which immediately tells us this is going to be a funny and slightly silly poem!
2. Lost and Afraid!
But they went so far, and they went so fast,
They quite forgot their way at last,
So one of the wise women cried in a fright,
‘Suppose we should meet a bear tonight!
Suppose he should eat me!’ ‘And me!!’ ‘And me!!!’
‘What is to be done?’ cried all the three.
The women walk a long distance and so quickly that they completely lose their way. This is when fear strikes them! One woman suddenly gets scared, imagining they might meet a bear in the dark. This fear quickly spreads to the other two, who also cry out in fright at the thought of being eaten. They all wonder what they should do. Their fear is exaggerated and quite funny given the situation.
3. The Ladder Solution (and a Problem)
‘Dear, dear!’ said one, ‘we’ll climb a tree,
There out of the way of the bears we’ll be.’
But there wasn’t a tree for miles around;
They were too frightened to stay on the ground,
So they climbed their ladder up to the top,
And sat there screaming ‘We’ll drop! We’ll drop!’
In their panic, one woman suggests they climb a tree to escape the imaginary bear. However, they soon realize there are no trees anywhere nearby. They are too scared to stay on the ground, so they come up with an unusual solution: they climb their own ladder! But once they are at the top, their fear changes, and they start screaming that they might fall off the ladder.
4. Sailing on a Ladder
But the wind was strong as the wind could be,
And blew their ladder right out to sea;
So the three wise women were all afloat
In a leaky ladder instead of a boat,
And every time the waves rolled in,
Of course the poor things were wet to the skin.
Just when they are screaming on their ladder, a very strong wind starts blowing. This wind is so powerful that it actually blows their ladder all the way out into the sea! Now, instead of being on land, the three women find themselves floating on the water, using their ladder as if it were a boat. It’s a “leaky” ladder-boat, so every time a wave washes over it, the women get completely soaked.
5. Resourceful Sailing and a Mystery Ending
Then they took their basket, the water to bale,
They put up their fan instead of a sail:
But what became of the wise women then,
Whether they ever sailed home again,
Whether they saw any bears, or no,
You must find out, for I don’t know.
Showing a surprising amount of cleverness, the women decide to use their basket to scoop water out of their ladder-boat (to “bale” it). Then, they use the fan (the one carried by the “wisest” woman) as a sail to help them move across the water. The poem then ends in a fun, mysterious way. The poet tells us that she doesn’t know what happened to the women next – whether they ever got home or if they actually saw any bears. It leaves the reader to imagine the rest of their adventure!
Literary Techniques, Poetic Choices, and Figures of Speech
Themes / Message of the Poem
Author Spotlight: Elizabeth T Corbett
Elizabeth T Corbett was a popular poet in the late 1800s, especially known for her delightful nonsense verse written for children! Imagine a poet who loved to create silly stories and rhymes that made kids giggle and think, “What a funny idea!” Not much is known about her life, which makes her a bit of a mysterious character, almost like one of the fantastical creatures from her own poems. We know she wrote whimsical works like “The Fairy of the Moonbeam” and “Rustic Rhymes and Ballads.” Her poems often took ordinary ideas and twisted them into something wonderfully absurd and entertaining, just like our “Three Wise Old Women” and their incredible adventure with a ladder-boat!
Want to print your doc?
This is not the way.
This is not the way.
Try clicking the ⋯ next to your doc name or using a keyboard shortcut (
CtrlP
) instead.