"The Castle" is an allegorical poem by the Scottish poet, autobiographer, translator, and critic Edwin Muir, first published in his 1946 collection The Voyage, and Other Poems. The poem's speaker is a soldier who is part of an army defending a castle. The soldier believes the castle to be impenetrable because it is so strong and is defended by brave, loyal men. And yet, to the soldier's shock, the castle is easily overthrown without a fight when the opposing army simply bribes a castle guard to let it inside. Using simple language and an engrossing narrative, the poem illustrates the danger of pride, implying that being overly confident can lead to disaster.
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The Full Text of “The Castle”
The Full Text of “The Castle”
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“The Castle” Summary
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“The Castle” Themes
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The Dangers of Pride
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-30
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Castle”
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Lines 1-5
All through that ...
... us at all. -
Lines 6-10
For what, we ...
... leafy summer road. -
Lines 11-15
Our gates were ...
... have got in. -
Lines 16-20
What could they ...
... let them through. -
Lines 21-25
Oh then our ...
... secret galleries bare. -
Lines 26-30
How can this ...
... fight it with.
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“The Castle” Symbols
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The Gate
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Lines 18-19: “There was a little private gate, / A little wicked wicket gate.”
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“The Castle” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Enjambment
Where enjambment appears in the poem:- Lines 2-3: “wall / We”
- Lines 3-4: “hay / And”
- Lines 4-5: “away / They”
- Lines 6-7: “fear / With”
- Lines 9-10: “near / On”
- Lines 12-13: “win / A”
- Lines 13-14: “trick / Could”
- Lines 21-22: “stone / Grew”
- Lines 27-28: “death / We”
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Diacope
Where diacope appears in the poem:- Line 7: “load on load”
- Line 8: “tier on tier”
- Line 18: “gate”
- Line 19: “gate”
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Parallelism
Where parallelism appears in the poem:- Line 7: “our ”
- Lines 7-8: “arms and provender, load on load, / Our towering battlements, tier on tier,”
- Line 11: “Our gates were strong, our walls were thick,”
- Line 12: “no”
- Line 13: “no”
- Lines 18-19: “a little private gate, / A little wicked wicket gate.”
- Line 23: “The”
- Line 24: “The”
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Consonance
Where consonance appears in the poem:- Line 2: “daily,” “wall”
- Line 3: “We watched,” “mowers”
- Line 4: “enemy,” “mile”
- Line 5: “seemed”
- Line 6: “what, we”
- Line 7: “arms,” “provender”
- Line 8: “towering battlements,” “tier,” “tier”
- Line 9: “friendly allies”
- Line 10: “leafy”
- Line 11: “walls were”
- Line 12: “So smooth,” “man,” “win”
- Line 13: “foothold”
- Lines 13-14: “clever trick / Could take”
- Line 14: “quick”
- Line 16: “bait”
- Line 17: “brave,” “we were,” “true”
- Line 18: “little private gate”
- Line 19: “little wicked wicket gate”
- Line 20: “wizened warder”
- Line 24: “famous citadel”
- Line 26: “tale,” “told”
- Line 27: “maintain”
- Line 29: “only,” “gold”
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Alliteration
Where alliteration appears in the poem:- Line 3: “We watched”
- Line 6: “what, we”
- Line 8: “towering,” “tier,” “tier”
- Line 11: “walls were”
- Line 12: “So smooth”
- Line 13: “clever”
- Line 14: “Could,” “quick”
- Line 16: “bait”
- Line 17: “brave,” “we were”
- Line 19: “wicked wicket”
- Line 20: “wizened warder”
- Line 21: “tunneled”
- Line 22: “treacherous”
- Line 24: “citadel”
- Line 25: “secret”
- Line 26: “tale,” “told”
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Assonance
Where assonance appears in the poem:- Line 1: “All,” “lay”
- Line 2: “daily,” “wall”
- Line 3: “watched,” “hay”
- Line 4: “away”
- Line 5: “all”
- Line 6: “we,” “we,” “fear”
- Line 8: “tier,” “tier”
- Line 9: “friendly,” “near”
- Line 10: “every,” “leafy”
- Line 13: “clever”
- Line 14: “dead”
- Line 16: “bait”
- Line 17: “brave”
- Line 18: “private”
- Line 19: “little,” “wicked,” “wicket”
- Line 20: “wizened”
- Line 21: “Oh,” “stone”
- Line 23: “cause,” “lost,” “groan”
- Line 24: “overthrown”
- Line 26: “shameful tale”
- Line 27: “maintain”
- Line 30: “it,” “with”
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Imagery
Where imagery appears in the poem:- Line 8: “Our towering battlements, tier on tier,”
- Line 10: “On every leafy summer road.”
- Lines 11-13: “Our gates were strong, our walls were thick, / So smooth and high, no man could win / A foothold there,”
- Line 20: “wizened warder”
- Lines 21-22: “Oh then our maze of tunneled stone / Grew thin and treacherous as air.”
- Line 25: “And all its secret galleries bare.”
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Rhetorical Question
Where rhetorical question appears in the poem:- Line 16: “What could they offer us for bait?”
- Line 26: “How can this shameful tale be told?”
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“The Castle” 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.
- Turret
- Mowers
- Provender
- Battlements
- Tier
- Dead or quick
- Wicket gate
- Wizened
- Warder
- Citadel
- Galleries
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(Location in poem: Lines 2-3: “And daily from the turret wall / We watched the mowers in the hay”)
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Castle”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“The Castle” Speaker
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“The Castle” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “The Castle”
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More “The Castle” Resources
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External Resources
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Muir and Scotland — Learn about Muir's importance in the Scottish literary world.
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The Poem Aloud — Listen to the poem read aloud.
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Muir's Life and Work — Read the Poetry Foundation's short biography of Edwin Muir.
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Muir's Travels — Learn about Muir's travels across Europe and their effect on his writing.
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Muir's Legacy — Read a recent appreciation of Muir's poetry.
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