The Owl and Lamp by Tomás de Iriarte
The work presents a satirical narrative that denounces critics through an allegorical episode. Opening with a denunciation of those who attack living creators only to remain silent until the subject is dead, the poem sets a tone of moral and artistic reproof. A grandmother’s tale recounts an episode from a nocturnal journey: a wandering owl encounters a brightly illuminated object—a lamp or lanthorn—in a convent passage. The owl, agitated by the object’s glaring light which hinders its predatory impudence, vows that it would gladly deplete the lamp’s oil if it were not blinded by its radiance. Instead, the owl declares that it will wait for another night, when the lamp might be unlit and vulnerable, to exact its feast. This narrative functions as a metaphor for the behavior of literary critics who, like the owl, are depicted as waiting for the opportune moment to assail the work, doing so only when it is safe and defenseless—typically after the creator’s demise. The poem critiques the disingenuousness and hypocrisy inherent in such criticism, juxtaposing the natural instincts of a predatory creature with the calculated strategies of those who seek to undermine artistic expression. Through ironic humor and pointed imagery, the work exposes the underlying pettiness of critics who adopt a predatory stance, suggesting that their tirades are both opportunistic and ultimately destructive to genuine discourse on art and literature.
By Tomás de Iriarte · First published 1782 · Genre: Satirical Poetry, Allegory, Fable · 284 words
First lines
There is a set of dastard knaves, / Vile critics, that will wait to make attack / On authors till their victims are -- alack! -- / All safe and quiet in their graves; / For living men, they know, might answer back.
To this same purpose, once a little lay / My old grandmother sang to me, / Recounting how a wandering Owl, one day, / Into a convent chanced to make her way; -- / I'm wrong -- by day it could not be.
For, without doubt, the evening's sun had set / Below the horizon long ago.
Now, as she flew along, our Owl she met / A Lamp or Lanthorn in the passage set -- / Which of the two I do not know.
What this Textopian page supports
The Owl and Lamp is listed on Textopian as a fable by Tomás de Iriarte, dated 1782 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Fable
- Author: Tomás de Iriarte
- Date: 1782 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Satirical Poetry, Allegory, Fable, Humorous Verse
- Length: 284 words
- Structure: 1 section, 6 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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- Work identity for The Owl and Lamp by Tomás de Iriarte
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Similar titles
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- The Concert Of The Beasts by Tomas De Iriarte
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- The Object Lesson by James Whitcomb Riley
- The Author And The Rat by Tomas De Iriarte
- The Prophet Lost In The Hills At Evening by Hilaire Belloc
Genres
- Satirical Poetry — The text employs irony and wit to critique literary and cultural norms in a poetic form.
- Allegory — The narrative uses symbolic characters to reflect on deeper moral and societal themes.
- Fable — Anthropomorphic elements and a narrative with an implied moral align the work with the tradition of fables.
- Humorous Verse — The playful tone and exaggerated depiction of characters create a distinct humorous quality in the verse.
Tags
Fable · Allegory · Satire · Didactic · Moral · Symbolism · Enlightenment · Classic literature · Animal narrative · Intellectual critique · Philosophical · Poetic