"Eel Tail," by the British author Alice Oswald, illustrates the surreal wonder of nature while also hinting at an uncrossable divide between humanity and the animal world. The poem's speaker discusses "looking and looking" for eels in a marsh, describing them as mysterious, skittish creatures that manage to constantly elude human detection. The eels' evasiveness suggests that some parts of the natural world are forever out of human beings' grasp. Oswald first published "Eel Tail" in 2008 in the literary magazine Granta.

• Read the full text of “Eel Tail”

• “Eel Tail” Summary

• “Eel Tail” Themes

  • 

    The Slipperiness of Nature

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-44

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Eel Tail”

  • Lines 1-7

    sometimes you see ...
    ... of the unmoon

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 8-12

    and then as ...
    ... when it clears

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 13-19

    you keep looking ...
    ... smirk of ripples

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 20-27

    and then as ...
    ... backlashes waterwicks

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 28-38

    you keep finding ...
    ... when it clears

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 39-44

    sometimes you see ...
    ...                     gone

    

    

    

    

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• “Eel Tail” Symbols

  • 

    The Moon

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Line 5: “cousins of the moon”
    • Line 7: “always move under cover of the unmoon”
    • Lines 39-41: “sometimes you see that whip-thin / tail of a waning moon start / burrowing back into blackness”
  • 

    Darkness and Shadows

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Line 6: “who love blackness”
    • Lines 29-30: “little cables of shadow, vanishing / dream-lines long roots of the penumbra”
    • Line 41: “burrowing back into blackness”

• “Eel Tail” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Repetition

    

    

    

    

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    Where repetition appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “sometimes”
    • Lines 8-12: “and then as soon as you see them /                         gone / untranslatable hissed interruptions / unspeakable wide chapped lips / it's the wind again”
    • Line 12: “and when it clears”
    • Line 13: “you keep looking and looking for those”
    • Line 19: “sometimes”
    • Lines 20-24: “and then as soon as you see them /                         gone / untranslatable hissed interruptions / unspeakable wide chapped lips / it's the wind again”
    • Line 25: “and when it clears”
    • Line 26: “you keep looking and looking for those”
    • Line 28: “you keep finding those”
    • Lines 33-37: “and then as soon as you see them /                         gone / untranslatable hissed interruptions / unspeakable wide chapped lips / it's the wind again”
    • Line 38: “and when it clears”
    • Line 39: “sometimes”
    • Lines 42-44: “and then as soon as you see her / and then as soon as you say so /                     gone”

  • Personification

    

    

    

    

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    Where personification appears in the poem:

    • Line 6: “who love blackness, aloofness,”
    • Line 12: “it's the wind again cursing the water”
    • Line 19: “a smirk of ripples”
    • Lines 22-23: “untranslatable hissed interruptions / unspeakable wide chapped lips”
    • Lines 24-25: “it's the wind again / bothering the reeds”
    • Lines 35-36: “untranslatable hissed interruptions / unspeakable wide chapped lips”
    • Lines 37-38: “it's the wind again / pushing on your ears”

  • Metaphor

    

    

    

    

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    Where metaphor appears in the poem:

    • Line 2: “those short lead lengths of eels”
    • Line 5: “preliminary, pre-world creatures, cousins of the moon,”
    • Line 7: “always move under cover of the unmoon”
    • Lines 10-11: “untranslatable hissed interruptions / unspeakable wide chapped lips”
    • Lines 14-15: “uncontrolled little eddies, / when you lever their rooves up”
    • Line 19: “a smirk of ripples”
    • Lines 22-23: “untranslatable hissed interruptions / unspeakable wide chapped lips”
    • Line 27: “backlashes waterwicks”
    • Lines 28-30: “those sea-veins still / flowing, little cables of shadow, vanishing / dream-lines long roots of the penumbra”
    • Line 31: “but they just drill down into gravel”
    • Lines 35-36: “untranslatable hissed interruptions / unspeakable wide chapped lips”
    • Lines 39-41: “sometimes you see that whip-thin / tail of a waning moon start / burrowing back into blackness”

  • Consonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where consonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “sometimes,” “see,” “mudfish”
    • Line 2: “short,” “lead lengths,” “eels”
    • Line 5: “preliminary, pre-world,” “creatures, cousins”
    • Line 6: “love blackness, aloofness”
    • Line 7: “move,” “unmoon”
    • Line 8: “soon,” “see”
    • Line 10: “untranslatable hissed interruptions”
    • Line 11: “unspeakable,” “chapped lips”
    • Line 12: “it's,” “wind,” “cursing,” “water,” “when,” “clears”
    • Line 13: “keep looking,” “looking”
    • Line 14: “underlurkers, uncontrolled little”
    • Line 15: “lever”
    • Line 16: “lie limbless hairless”
    • Line 17: “some,” “system”
    • Line 18: “sucking,” “sucking”
    • Line 19: “sometimes its just,” “smirk”
    • Lines 22-23: “untranslatable hissed interruptions / unspeakable”
    • Line 23: “chapped lips”
    • Line 26: “keep looking,” “looking”
    • Line 27: “backlashes waterwicks”
    • Line 28: “sea-veins still”
    • Line 29: “little cables,” “shadow, vanishing”
    • Line 30: “dream-lines long roots,” “penumbra”
    • Line 31: “drill down”
    • Line 32: “dwindle,” “drips”
    • Line 33: “soon,” “see”
    • Line 35: “untranslatable hissed interruptions”
    • Line 36: “unspeakable,” “chapped lips”
    • Line 37: “it's”
    • Line 39: “sometimes,” “see,” “whip”
    • Line 40: “waning”
    • Line 41: “burrowing back,” “blackness”
    • Line 42: “soon,” “see”
    • Line 43: “soon,” “say so”

  • Assonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where assonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 2: “lead lengths”
    • Line 3: “hide,” “tide”
    • Line 7: “move,” “under cover,” “unmoon”
    • Line 10: “hissed interruptions”
    • Lines 11-12: “lips / it's”
    • Line 12: “wind”
    • Line 22: “hissed interruptions”
    • Lines 23-24: “lips / it's”
    • Line 24: “wind”
    • Line 32: “dwindle,” “quick,” “drips”
    • Line 35: “hissed interruptions”
    • Lines 36-37: “lips / it's”
    • Line 37: “wind”
    • Line 38: “ears,” “clears”
    • Line 41: “back,” “blackness”

  • Enjambment

    

    

    

    

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    Where enjambment appears in the poem:

    • Lines 2-3: “eels / that”
    • Lines 4-5: “wagging, / preliminary”
    • Lines 7-8: “unmoon / and”
    • Lines 8-9: “them /                         gone”
    • Lines 12-13: “clears / you”
    • Lines 13-14: “those / underlurkers”
    • Lines 15-16: “up / they”
    • Lines 16-17: “hairless / like”
    • Lines 17-18: “system / sucking”
    • Lines 18-19: “and / sometimes”
    • Lines 19-20: “ripples / and”
    • Lines 20-21: “them /                         gone”
    • Lines 24-25: “again / bothering”
    • Lines 25-26: “clears / you”
    • Lines 26-27: “those / backlashes”
    • Lines 28-29: “still / flowing”
    • Lines 29-30: “vanishing / dream-lines”
    • Lines 30-31: “penumbra / but”
    • Lines 31-32: “and / dwindle”
    • Lines 32-33: “drips / and”
    • Lines 33-34: “them /                         gone”
    • Lines 37-38: “again / pushing”
    • Lines 38-39: “clears / sometimes”
    • Lines 39-40: “whip-thin / tail”
    • Lines 40-41: “start / burrowing”
    • Lines 41-42: “blackness / and”
    • Lines 42-43: “her / and”
    • Lines 43-44: “so /                     gone”

• “Eel Tail” Vocabulary

  Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

  • Preliminary
  • Aloofness
  • Unmoon
  • Unspeakable
  • Underlurkers
  • Eddies
  • Rooves
  • Smirk
  • Waterwicks
  • Backlashes
  • Penumbra
  • (Location in poem: Line 5: “preliminary, pre-world creatures”)

• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Eel Tail”

  • Form

  • Meter

  • Rhyme Scheme

• “Eel Tail” Speaker

• “Eel Tail” Setting

• Literary and Historical Context of “Eel Tail”

• More “Eel Tail” Resources

  • External Resources

    • Alice Oswald's Life and Work — A biography of Alice Oswald via the Poetry Foundation.

    • Eels: A Fact Sheet — LEarn more about the mysterious creatures described in the 

    • Alice Oswald (Poetry Archive) — Listen a recording of Alice Oswald reading her own poetry.

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