"Barn Owl" was published in 1975 by Gwen Harwood, considered one of Australia's greatest poets, and has been widely taught and anthologized since. The poem, written in the first person, tells the story of an act of rebellion: the speaker's murder of a barn owl with their father's stolen gun. The poem uses vivid imagery, powerful symbolism, and carefully-chosen language to convey the brutal circumstances under which the speaker loses their innocence and comes of age. The poem is the first section of a two-part piece called "Father and Child."

• Read the full text of “Barn Owl”

• “Barn Owl” Summary

• “Barn Owl” Themes

  • 

    Coming of Age and Loss of Innocence

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-42
  • 

    Death and Mortality

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-42
  • 

    Humanity Vs. Nature

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-42

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Barn Owl”

  • Lines 1-4

    Daybreak: the household ...
    ... my father's gun.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 5-8

    Let him dream ...
    ... by sleep.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 8-13

    I knew my ...
    ... useless time away.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 14-18

    I stood, holding ...
    ... beak and claw.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 19-22

    My first shot ...
    ... the fallen gun,

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 22-24

    a lonely ...
    ... not this obscene

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 25-28

    bundle of stuff ...
    ... blindly closer.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 28-33

    I saw ...
    ... its own blood.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 34-36

    My father reached ...
    ... you have begun.'

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 37-38

    I fired. The ...
    ... mine, and slept.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 39-42

    I leaned my ...
    ... I had begun

    

    

    

    

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• “Barn Owl” Symbols

  • 

    Light and Darkness

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “Daybreak”
    • Line 2: “I rose, blessed by the sun.”
    • Lines 9-10: “swooped home at this hour / with day-light riddled eyes”
    • Lines 12-13: “dream / light's useless time away.”
    • Lines 16-17: “master of life and death, / a wisp-haired judge”
    • Lines 27-29: “hopped / blindly closer. I saw / those eyes that did not see”
    • Lines 31-32: “ the wrecked thing that could / not bear the light”
    • Lines 37-38: “The blank eyes shone / once into mine, and slept.”
    • Line 41: “owl blind in early sun”
  • 

    Eyes and Sight

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Lines 8-11: “ I knew my prize / who swooped home at this hour / with day-light riddled eyes / to his place on a high beam”
    • Line 21: “I watched, afraid”
    • Lines 27-33: “hopped / blindly closer. I saw / those eyes that did not see / mirror my cruelty / while the wrecked thing that could / not bear the light nor hide / hobbled in its own blood.”
    • Lines 37-38: “The blank eyes shone / once into mine, and slept.”
    • Lines 39-41: “I leaned my head upon / my father's arm, and wept, / owl blind”
  • 

    The Gun

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Lines 3-4: “A horny fiend, I crept / out with my father's gun.”
    • Line 7: “robbed of power”
    • Lines 16-18: “master of life and death, / a wisp-haired judge whose law / would punish beak and claw.”
    • Lines 19-22: “My first shot struck. He swayed, / ruined, beating his only / wing, as I watched, afraid / by the fallen gun,”
    • Lines 34-36: “My father reached my side, / gave me the fallen gun. / 'End what you have begun.'”
    • Line 37: “I fired. ”
    • Lines 40-42: “wept, / owl blind in early sun / for what I had begun”

• “Barn Owl” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Alliteration

    

    

    

    

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    Where alliteration appears in the poem:

    • Line 2: “blessed by”
    • Line 3: “fiend”
    • Line 4: “father's”
    • Line 7: “power”
    • Line 8: “prize”
    • Line 14: “holding ”
    • Line 15: “hay”
    • Line 19: “struck,” “swayed”
    • Line 21: “wing,” “watched,” “afraid”
    • Line 22: “fallen ”
    • Line 24: “final”
    • Line 25: “bundle ,” “dropped”
    • Line 26: “dribbled ,” “straw”
    • Line 27: “bowels”
    • Line 28: “blindly,” “saw”
    • Line 29: “those ,” “that ,” “see”
    • Line 30: “mirror my”
    • Line 32: “bear ,” “hide”
    • Line 33: “hobbled ,” “blood”

  • Assonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where assonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “Daybreak,” “slept”
    • Line 2: “blessed,” “sun”
    • Line 3: “fiend,” “crept”
    • Line 4: “gun”
    • Line 5: “dream ,” “child”
    • Line 6: “obedient,” “mind”
    • Line 7: “old no,” “power”
    • Lines 8-9: “I knew my prize / who swooped”
    • Line 9: “hour”
    • Line 10: “light,” “eyes”
    • Line 11: “high beam”
    • Line 12: “dream”
    • Line 13: “light's ,” “time ,” “away”
    • Line 14: “I,” “my breath”
    • Line 15: “in urine-scented hay”
    • Line 16: “death”
    • Line 17: “law”
    • Line 18: “claw”
    • Line 19: “swayed”
    • Lines 20-21: “ruined, beating his only / wing”
    • Line 21: “afraid”
    • Line 22: “lonely”
    • Line 23: “child ,” “believed ,” “clean”
    • Line 24: “final,” “obscene”
    • Line 25: “bundle,” “stuff,” “dropped”
    • Line 26: “through ,” “loose straw”
    • Line 27: “hopped”
    • Line 28: “blindly ,” “I saw”
    • Line 29: “eyes ,” “see”
    • Line 30: “my cruelty”
    • Line 31: “while”
    • Line 32: “light ,” “hide”
    • Line 33: “in ,” “its ”
    • Line 34: “My,” “my ,” “side”
    • Line 35: “fallen ,” “gun”
    • Line 36: “what ,” “begun”
    • Line 37: “I fired,” “eyes”
    • Line 38: “mine,” “slept”
    • Line 39: “I,” “my head”
    • Line 40: “my ,” “wept”
    • Line 41: “blind ,” “sun”
    • Line 42: “I,” “begun”

  • Caesura

    

    

    

    

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    Where caesura appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “Daybreak: the”
    • Line 2: “rose, blessed”
    • Line 3: “fiend, I”
    • Line 6: “obedient, angel-mind-”
    • Line 7: “ no-sayer, robbed”
    • Line 8: “sleep. I”
    • Line 12: “stables, to”
    • Line 14: “stood, holding”
    • Line 19: “struck. He”
    • Line 20: “ruined, beating”
    • Line 21: “wing, as,” “watched, afraid”
    • Line 22: “gun, a”
    • Line 24: “final, not”
    • Line 28: “closer. I”
    • Line 38: “mine, and”
    • Line 40: “arm, and”

  • Consonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where consonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “household slept”
    • Line 2: “blessed by,” “sun”
    • Line 3: “horny fiend,” “crept”
    • Line 4: “out,” “gun”
    • Lines 5-6: “child / obedient, angel-mind-”
    • Line 7: “old,” “robbed,” “power”
    • Line 8: “by sleep,” “prize”
    • Line 9: “who swooped home”
    • Line 10: “day-light riddled”
    • Line 11: “place,” “beam”
    • Line 12: “old stables, to dream”
    • Line 13: “light's useless time”
    • Line 15: “in urine-scented”
    • Line 16: “master,” “life”
    • Line 19: “first shot struck,” “swayed”
    • Line 21: “wing,” “watched, afraid”
    • Line 22: “fallen gun,” “lonely”
    • Line 23: “child,” “believed death clean”
    • Line 24: “and final, not,” “obscene”
    • Line 25: “bundle,” “stuff,” “dropped”
    • Line 26: “dribbled,” “loose straw”
    • Line 27: “tangling,” “bowels,” “hopped”
    • Line 28: “blindly closer”
    • Line 30: “mirror my”
    • Line 32: “hide”
    • Line 33: “hobbled,” “blood”
    • Line 34: “father”
    • Line 35: “gave,” “fallen gun”
    • Line 36: “begun”
    • Line 37: “shone”
    • Line 38: “once into mine, and slept.”
    • Line 39: “leaned,” “upon”
    • Line 40: “wept”
    • Line 41: “owl blind in early sun”
    • Line 42: “begun”

  • Enjambment

    

    

    

    

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    Where enjambment appears in the poem:

    • Lines 3-4: “crept / out”
    • Lines 5-6: “child / obedient”
    • Lines 7-8: “power / by”
    • Lines 8-9: “prize / who”
    • Lines 9-10: “hour / with”
    • Lines 10-11: “ eyes / to”
    • Lines 11-12: “beam / in”
    • Lines 12-13: “dream / light's”
    • Lines 17-18: “law / would”
    • Lines 20-21: “only / wing”
    • Lines 21-22: “afraid / by”
    • Lines 22-23: “lonely / child”
    • Lines 23-24: “clean / and”
    • Lines 24-25: “obscene / bundle”
    • Lines 26-27: “straw / tangling”
    • Lines 27-28: “hopped / blindly”
    • Lines 28-29: “saw / those”
    • Lines 29-30: “see / mirror”
    • Lines 30-31: “cruelty / while”
    • Lines 31-32: “could / not”
    • Lines 32-33: “hide / hobbled”
    • Lines 37-38: “shone / once”
    • Lines 39-40: “upon / my”

  • Imagery

    

    

    

    

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    Where imagery appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-3: “Daybreak: the household slept. / I rose, blessed by the sun. / A horny fiend, I crept”
    • Lines 8-12: “I knew my prize / who swooped home at this hour / with day-light riddled eyes / to his place on a high beam / in our old stables”
    • Lines 14-16: “I stood, holding my breath, / in urine-scented hay, / master of life and death,”
    • Lines 19-21: “He swayed, / ruined, beating his only / wing”
    • Lines 24-28: “this obscene / bundle of stuff that dropped, / and dribbled through the loose straw / tangling in bowels, and hopped / blindly closer.”
    • Lines 31-33: “while the wrecked thing that could / not bear the light nor hide / hobbled in its own blood.”
    • Lines 37-41: “The blank eyes shone / once into mine, and slept. / I leaned my head upon / my father's arm, and wept, / owl blind in early sun”

  • Metaphor

    

    

    

    

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    Where metaphor appears in the poem:

    • Line 2: “I rose, blessed by the sun.”
    • Lines 5-8: “Let him dream of a child / obedient, angel-mind- / old no-sayer, robbed of power / by sleep.”
    • Line 10: “day-light riddled eyes”
    • Lines 12-13: “to dream / light's useless time away.”
    • Lines 16-18: “master of life and death, / a wisp-haired judge whose law / would punish beak and claw.”
    • Line 36: “'End what you have begun.'”
    • Lines 37-38: “The blank eyes shone / once into mine, and slept.”
    • Line 41: “owl blind in early sun”

  • Repetition

    

    

    

    

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    Where repetition appears in the poem:

    • Line 4: “my father's gun”
    • Line 22: “the fallen gun”
    • Line 35: “the fallen gun”
    • Line 36: “'End what you have begun.'”
    • Line 42: “for what I had begun”

  • Asyndeton

    

    

    

    

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    Where asyndeton appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “Daybreak: the household slept.”
    • Line 3: “A horny fiend, I crept”
    • Lines 5-8: “Let him dream of a child / obedient, angel-mind- / old no-sayer, robbed of power / by sleep.”
    • Lines 14-17: “I stood, holding my breath, / in urine-scented hay, / master of life and death, / a wisp-haired judge”
    • Lines 19-21: “He swayed, / ruined, beating his only / wing,”
    • Lines 21-25: “afraid / by the fallen gun, a lonely / child who believed death clean / and final, not this obscene / bundle of stuff that dropped”
    • Lines 34-35: “My father reached my side, / gave me the fallen gun.”

• “Barn Owl” 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.

  • Fiend
  • Horny
  • Angel-mind
  • Old no-sayer
  • Riddled
  • Obscene
  • Bowels
  • Hobbled
  • (Location in poem: Line 3: “A horny fiend, I crept”)

• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Barn Owl”

  • Form

  • Meter

  • Rhyme Scheme

• “Barn Owl” Speaker

• “Barn Owl” Setting

• Literary and Historical Context of “Barn Owl”

• More “Barn Owl” Resources

  • External Resources

    • Texts in the City: Collected Poems of Gwen Hardwood Harwood — Watch a talk about Harwood's poetry.

    • More Poems About Childhood — Check out a short essay on and compilation of poems about childhood.

    • "Barn Owl" Aloud — Listen to a reading of "Barn Owl" by the poet Bonny Cassidy.

    • Gwen Harwood's Biography — Read all about the poet's life and work.

    • Owls of Australia — Learn more about Australia's native owls, including the barn owl.

  • LitCharts on Other Poems by Gwen Harwood

    • In The Park

    • Suburban Sonnet

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