Poetry · Chapter
The Weather Wight explained
The narrator struggles through a dark, stormy night, hears the ocean's roar, and prays for mariners.
What happens
The narrator struggles through a dark, stormy night, hears the ocean's roar, and prays for mariners. A mysterious voice offers shelter, leading him to a hovel where a thin old man explains he runs a Weather Bureau using only his corns to forecast the weather, scornful of instruments. The narrator's skeptical questions provoke the old man's angry retreat when he perceives a storm in the narrator's eye.
Themes in this chapter
Nature and Artifice
The old man's reliance on his corns (natural, bodily signs) versus scientific instruments (artifice) highlights the tension between raw nature and human-made systems.
Deception and Self-Deception
The old man's absurd claim to predict weather by his corns suggests self-deception or a con, while the narrator's skepticism points to the theme of deception.
Characters to notice
- Unknown
The narrator, lost in the dark and stormy night, seeks shelter and engages with the old weather forecaster.
- The Weather Wight
A bald, thin old man who claims to run a Weather Bureau using his corns to predict the weather, scornful of scientific instruments.
Key passages
“God help the mariner," I cried, "Whose ship to-morrow braves the tide!”
I prayed for sailors who would face the stormy sea the next day.
The narrator expresses concern for those at sea.
“I tells the weather by my corns.”
I predict the weather using my corns.
The old man explains his unorthodox forecasting method.