How to Tell the Birds from the Flowers and Other Woodcuts · Chapter
The Tern; The Turnip explained
A humorous poem instructing readers on how to distinguish a Tern (a bird) from a Turnip (a vegetable), emphasizing the Tern's ability to fly and turn in the air versus the Turnip's rooted, inert nature, with a playful pun on 'eternally' and
What happens
A humorous poem instructing readers on how to distinguish a Tern (a bird) from a Turnip (a vegetable), emphasizing the Tern's ability to fly and turn in the air versus the Turnip's rooted, inert nature, with a playful pun on 'eternally' and 'cooked to a tern.'
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.
- Setup
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
The emotional and psychological peak occurs in the tension between the Ibis’s preserved, sacred death and the…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Wordplay and Homophones
The poem plays on the homophones 'tern' and 'turn,' and the pun 'e-tern-ally' linking the Tern to eternity.
- Nature and Classification
The poem attempts to classify and differentiate between a bird (Tern) and a vegetable (Turnip) based on physical and behavioral traits.
Characters to notice
- the Tern
The Tern is observed in flight, turning in the air, and is contrasted with the Turnip's immobility.
Key passages
“To tell the Turnip from the Tern, A thing which everyone should learn, Observe the Tern up in the air, See how he turns, and now compare Him with this in‑ert veg‑et‑able, Who thus to turn is quite unable, For he is rooted to the spot, While as we see, the Tern is not: He is not always doomed to be Thus bound to earth e‑ tern ‑ally For “cooked to a tern” may be inferred, To change the Turnip to a bird. Observe the Turnip in the Pot. The Tern is glad that he is not!”
To distinguish a Turnip from a Tern, watch the Tern fly and turn in the air, then compare it to the motionless Turnip, which is stuck in the ground. The Tern is not forever earthbound, and the phrase 'cooked to a tern' suggests turning a Turnip into a bird. Look at the Turnip in the pot—the Tern is relieved not to be one.
A direct paraphrase of the entire poem, capturing the instructional tone and wordplay.
