"The Mower to the Glow-Worms" is one of four "Mower" poems written by 17th-century English poet Andrew Marvell. In this poem, the titular mower praises some nearby glow-worms (a.k.a. fireflies) for lighting the way as he cuts grass at night. And yet, the speaker laments that the creatures' lovely light is ultimately wasted on him; he can't fully appreciate nature's kindness and splendor because he's too distracted by his unrequited love for a woman named Juliana. Heartbreak, the poem suggests, can make it difficult for people to see beyond their own pain.
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The Full Text of “The Mower to the Glow-Worms”
1Ye living lamps, by whose dear light
2The nightingale does sit so late,
3And studying all the summer night,
4Her matchless songs does meditate;
5Ye country comets, that portend
6No war nor prince’s funeral,
7Shining unto no higher end
8Than to presage the grass's fall;
9Ye glow-worms, whose officious flame
10To wand'ring mowers shows the way,
11That in the night have lost their aim,
12And after foolish fires do stray;
13Your courteous lights in vain you waste,
14Since Juliana here is come,
15For she my mind hath so displac'd
16That I shall never find my home.
The Full Text of “The Mower to the Glow-Worms”
1Ye living lamps, by whose dear light
2The nightingale does sit so late,
3And studying all the summer night,
4Her matchless songs does meditate;
5Ye country comets, that portend
6No war nor prince’s funeral,
7Shining unto no higher end
8Than to presage the grass's fall;
9Ye glow-worms, whose officious flame
10To wand'ring mowers shows the way,
11That in the night have lost their aim,
12And after foolish fires do stray;
13Your courteous lights in vain you waste,
14Since Juliana here is come,
15For she my mind hath so displac'd
16That I shall never find my home.
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“The Mower to the Glow-Worms” Summary
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“The Mower to the Glow-Worms” Themes
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The Beauty and Generosity of Nature
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The Pain of Heartbreak
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Mower to the Glow-Worms”
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Lines 1-4
Ye living lamps, by whose dear light
The nightingale does sit so late,
And studying all the summer night,
Her matchless songs does meditate; -
Lines 5-8
Ye country comets, that portend
No war nor prince’s funeral,
Shining unto no higher end
Than to presage the grass's fall; -
Lines 9-12
Ye glow-worms, whose officious flame
To wand'ring mowers shows the way,
That in the night have lost their aim,
And after foolish fires do stray; -
Lines 13-16
Your courteous lights in vain you waste,
Since Juliana here is come,
For she my mind hath so displac'd
That I shall never find my home.
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“The Mower to the Glow-Worms” Symbols
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The Glow-Worms
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“The Mower to the Glow-Worms” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
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Apostrophe
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Juxtaposition
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Metaphor
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“The Mower to the Glow-Worms” 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.
- Ye
- Dear
- Matchless
- Meditate
- Portend
- Unto no higher end
- Presage
- Officious
- Hath
- Displac'd
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- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Mower to the Glow-Worms”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“The Mower to the Glow-Worms” Speaker
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“The Mower to the Glow-Worms” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “The Mower to the Glow-Worms”
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More “The Mower to the Glow-Worms” Resources
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External Resources
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The Mower's Song — Read a Guardian article about another of the Mower poem (and the sequence more generally).
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Marvell's Life and Work — Dive into a Marvell-ous set of resources from the Poetry Foundation.
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Secrets of the Glow-worm — Learn more about the creatures at the heart of the poem—which aren't really worms at all!
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Andrew Marvell
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