The Silkworms

The Silkworms

By Douglas Stewart

All their lives in a box! What generations,
What centuries of masters, not meaning to be cruel
But needing their labour, taught these creatures such patience
That now though sunlight strikes on the eye’s dark jewel
Or moonlight breathes on the wing they do not stir
But like the ghosts of moths crouch silent there.

Look it’s a childs’s toy! There is no lid even,
They can climb, they can fly, and the whole world’s their tree;
But hush, they say in themselves, we are in prison.
There is no word to tell them that they are free,
And they are not; ancestral voices bind them
In dream too deep for wind or word to find them.

Even in the young, each like a little dragon
Rambing and green upon his mulberry leaf,
So full of life, it seems, the voice has spoken:
They hide where there is food, where they are safe,
And the voice whispers, “Spin the cocoon,
Sleep, sleep, you shall be wrapped in me soon.”

Now is their hour, when they wake from that long swoon;
Their pale curved wings are marked in a pattern of leaves,
Shadowy for trees, white for the dance of the moon;
And when on summer nights the buddleia gives
Its nectar like lilac wine for insects mating
They drink its fragrance and shiver, impatient with waiting,

They stir, they think they will go. They they remember
It was forbidden, forbidden, to ever go out;
The Hands are on guard outside like claps of thunder,
The ancestral voice says Don’t, and they do not.
Still the night calls them to unimaginable bliss
But there is terror around them, the vast, the abyss,

And here is the tribe that they know, in their known place,
They are gentle and kind together, they are safe for ever,
And all shall be answered at last when they embrace.
White moth moves closer to moth, lover to lover.
There is that pang of joy on the edge of dying–
Their soft wings whirr, they dream that they are flying.

Summary of The Silkworms

  • Popularity of “The Silkworms”: “The Silkworms” by Douglas Stewart, an Australian writer, editor, short story writer, and poet, is an interesting poetic output. The poem appeared first in 1957 in Quadrant. It sheds light on the life of silkworms and their living in their cocoons. The beauty of the poem lies in its rhythmic pattern synced with the happy, silent and fearful life of the silkworms.
  • “The Silkworms” As a Representative of Natural Life Cycle: The poet opens the poem, saying the silkworms live all of their lives in a box and generations after generations have been cruel to them, providing them only food and lodging and eking out the last drop of blood from them in the shape of silk. They only look at the sun or the moon and continue living silently. When the newly born silkworms come out, they do not try to fly away. The only word that seems to keep them there is “hush” after which they go deep down into hiding and continue living there. They continue eating mulberry leaves and living their quiet life and saying to each other that they need to spin a cocoon and live there. With time they also become like leaves, showing the same shapes and patterns. Whether they like it or not, they live in this depth for ages and then die. Despite this uncertainty, they continue mating and laying eggs, making whirr with their wings and living in joy.
  • Major Themes in “The Silkworms”: Natural lifecycle, the life of silkworms, and multiplying generations are three major themes of the poem. Although the silkworms live in prisons which are their cocoons, they continue multiplying with happiness. Some of them may have an idea of winning freedom as they can simply fly away, but they choose to live in that prison, preferring to have good food and good sleep. This could be a bliss or an abyss for them, yet they continue giving birth to moths after moths and making silk for the owners.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “The Silkworms”

literary devices are essential tools of poetic output. The analysis of these devices in the poem as given below shows this fact.

  1. Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /o/ in “Its nectar like lilac wine for insects mating”, /a/ in “My heart was made by thy tinder box” and the sound of /e/ in “That now though sunlight strikes on the eye’s dark jewel.”
  2. Alliteration: It is the use of successive consonant sounds in the initials of the successive words such as /th/ in “they think” and /m/ in “moth moves” or /w/ in “wings whirr” or even /s/ in “sunlight strikes.”
  3. Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /s/, /n/ and /r/in “That now though sunlight strikes on the eye’s dark jewel”, /th/ and /r/ in “There is no word to tell them that they are free,” and the sound of /w/ and /th/ in “They hide where there is food, where they are safe.”
  4. Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;

And when on summer nights the buddleia gives
Its nectar like lilac wine for insects mating
They drink its fragrance and shiver, impatient with waiting.

  1. Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. The poem shows the use of imagery such as “Even in the young, each like a little dragon”, “So full of life, it seems, the voice has spoken” and “Sleep, sleep, you shall be wrapped in me soon.”
  2. Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poem shows the use of metaphors of silkworms to show the life cycle of man.
  3. Personification: The poet has shown the use of personifications of a cocoon that speaks and asks the worms to sleep. The poem has also used voice as if it is a living thing. Another personification is the use of the night that calls them, showing it as if it is their motherly figure.
  4. Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poem shows the use of the symbols such as mulberry leaves, cocoons and moths to highlight the lifecycle of silkworms.
  5. Simile: The poem shows the use of similes such as; ‘But like the ghosts of moths crouch silent there’, ‘Even in the young, each like a dragon’ and ‘Its nectar like wine’ 

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “The Silkworms”

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.

  1. Diction and Tone: The poem shows classical and descriptive diction. Its tone, however, is tragic, sorrowful, and reassuring at some places.
  2. Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows ABABCC rhyme scheme in all of its six stanzas.
  3. Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are total six stanzas with each having six verses.

Quotes to be Used

These lines from “The Silkworms” are relevant to quote when delivering a motivational lecture to the prisoners to remove their old habits and become normal citizens.

They stir, they think they will go. They they remember
It was forbidden, forbidden, to ever go out;
The Hands are on guard outside like claps of thunder,
The ancestral voice says Don’t, and they do not.