How to Tell the Birds from the Flowers and Other Woodcuts · Chapter
The Rue; The Rooster explained
A short verse distinguishing the rooster's loud crow from the rue plant, emphasizing the rooster's disruptive effect on sleep and a playful wordplay on 'rue' as both a plant and a verb.
What happens
A short verse distinguishing the rooster's loud crow from the rue plant, emphasizing the rooster's disruptive effect on sleep and a playful wordplay on 'rue' as both a plant and a verb.
Themes in this chapter
Wordplay and Homophones
The verse plays on 'rue' as both a plant and a verb meaning regret, and contrasts it with 'rooster' through sound and meaning.
Nature and Classification
Contrasts a plant (rue) with an animal (rooster), highlighting their different characteristics and effects on human experience.
Key passages
“We sleep less soundly than we used ter / And love the Rue but rue the Rooster.”
Our sleep is more disturbed than before, and while we appreciate the rue plant, we regret the rooster's crowing.
The pun on 'rue' as both plant and verb is central to the chapter's humor.