The Pelican Chorus
By Edward Lear
King and Queen of the Pelicans we;
No other Birds so grand we see!
None but we have feet like fins!
With lovely leathery throats and chins!
Ploffskin, Pluffskin, Pelican jee!
We think no Birds so happy as we!
Plumpskin, Ploshkin, Pelican Jill!
We think so then, and we thought so still
We live on the Nile. The Nile we love.
By night we sleep on the cliffs above;
By day we fish, and at eve we stand
On long bare islands of yellow sand.
And when the sun sinks slowly down,
And the great rock walls grow dark and brown,
Where the purple river rolls fast and dim
And the Ivory Ibis starlike skim,
Wing to wing we dance around,
Stamping our feet with a flumpy sound,
Opening our mouths as Pelicans ought;
And this is the song we nightly snort, —
Ploffskin, Pluffskin, Pelican jee!
We think no Birds so happy as we!
Plumpskin, Ploshkin, Pelican jill!
We think so then, and we thought so still!
Last year came out our Daughter Dell,
And all the Birds received her well.
To do her honor a feast we made
For every bird that can swim or wade,—
Herons and Gulls, and Cormorants black,
Cranes, and Flamingoes with scarlet back,
Plovers and Storks, and Geese in clouds,
Swans and Dilberry Ducks in crowds:
Thousands of Birds in wondrous flight!
They ate and drank and danced all night,
And echoing back from the rocks you heard
Multitude-echoes from Bird and Bird, —
Ploffskin, Pluffskin, Pelican jee!
We think no Birds so happy as we!
Plumpskin, Ploshkin, Pelican jill!
We think so then, and we thought so still!
Yes, they came; and among the rest
The King of the Cranes all grandly dressed.
Such a lovely tail! Its feathers float
Between the ends of his blue dress-coat;
With pea-green trowsers all so neat,
And a delicate frill to hide his feet
(For though no one speaks of it, every one knows
He has got no webs between his toes).
As soon as he saw our Daughter Dell,
In violent love that Crane King fell, —
On seeing her waddling form so fair,
With a wreath of shrimps in her short white hair.
And before the end of the next long day
Our Dell had given her heart away;
For the King of the Cranes had won that heart
With a Crocodile's egg and a large fish-tart.
She vowed to marry the King of the Cranes,
Leaving the Nile for stranger plains;
And away they flew in a gathering crowd
Of endless birds in a lengthening cloud.
Ploffskin, Pluffskin, Pelican jee!
We think no Birds so happy as we!
Plumpskin, Ploshkin, Pelican jill!
We think so then, and we thought so still!
And far away in the twilight sky
We heard them singing a lessening cry,—
Farther and farther, till out of sight,
And we stood alone in the silent night!
Often since, in the nights of June,
We sit on the sand and watch the moon, —
She has gone to the great Gromboolian Plain,
And we probably never shall meet again!
Oft, in the long still nights of June,
We sit on the rocks and watch the moon, —
She dwells by the streams of the Chankly Bore.
And we probably never shall see her more.
Ploffskin, Pluffskin, Pelican jee!
We think no Birds so happy as we!
Plumpskin, Ploshkin, Pelican jill!
We think so then, and we thought so still!
Poem Analysis:
Edward Lear’s The Pelican Chorus is a whimsical and musical poem that blends nonsense verse with a touching narrative. Full of playful language, imagined geographies, and anthropomorphic birds, the poem is a classic example of Lear’s nonsense literature, written in a lighthearted tone but layered with themes of joy, love, change, and quiet melancholy.
Overview and Tone
At first glance, The Pelican Chorus seems purely humorous and fanciful. Told from the perspective of a pair of pelicans—King and Queen of their kind—it describes their joyful life on the Nile, the coming-of-age and marriage of their daughter, and her departure to a distant land. However, beneath its silliness lies an emotional depth, especially in the final stanzas, where themes of loss, nostalgia, and change surface.
The tone shifts subtly throughout: it begins as celebratory and proud, turns festive and romantic, and ends with a soft note of wistful sadness. The repeated chorus acts both as a joyful refrain and, later, a bittersweet reminder of the past.
Structure and Style
The poem is composed in rhyming couplets with a highly rhythmic and sing-song quality, typical of Lear’s nonsense poetry. The repetition of the chorus:
Ploffskin, Pluffskin, Pelican jee!We think no Birds so happy as we!Plumpskin, Ploshkin, Pelican Jill!We think so then, and we thought so still!
—adds a musical refrain that serves as both a comedic device and a narrative anchor, giving the poem its playful identity.
Key Themes
- Joy in Simplicity: The first stanza establishes the pelicans’ pride in their appearance, lifestyle, and habitat. They revel in their unique features—"feet like fins" and "leathery throats and chins"—and assert their happiness. This unapologetic self-contentment is both humorous and endearing.
- Nature and Daily Life: Lear describes a vivid landscape—the Nile, cliffs, islands of yellow sand, and the flowing river—as a lively ecosystem. The birds’ routine of fishing by day and dancing at night offers a poetic, anthropomorphized version of animal behavior and domestic life.
- Celebration and Community: The third stanza marks a festive high point as the pelicans host a massive celebration for their daughter Dell. Birds of many kinds—Herons, Gulls, Cranes, Ducks—attend, demonstrating Lear’s love of cataloguing strange and real species for rhythm and humor. The imagery captures joy and the spirit of togetherness in nature.
- Love and Departure: The turning point of the poem is the love story between Dell and the King of the Cranes. Their courtship—humorously involving a Crocodile’s egg and a large fish-tart—leads to Dell leaving the Nile. Her departure represents growing up and the bittersweetness of letting go, a poignant moment masked by Lear’s playful language.
- Nostalgia and Loss: The final stanza is the most emotional. The Pelican King and Queen sit alone under the moon, remembering their daughter. Places like the “Gromboolian Plain” and the “Chankly Bore” are fictional but evoke a dreamlike, faraway realm. The repetition of “we probably never shall see her more” introduces genuine sorrow, cleverly balanced by the returning chorus, which now carries a more ironic or wistful tone.
Symbolism and Imagery
The Nile: Represents home, stability, tradition, and happiness.
- Bird Celebration: A metaphor for rites of passage and community support.
- Cranes' King (in coat and trousers) Satirical anthropomorphism; possibly a jab at social status and superficial charm.
- Crocodile’s egg & fish-tart: Absurd tokens of affection—illustrates Lear’s comic imagination.
- Gromboolian Plain / Chankly Bore: Imagined lands—symbolic of growing distance and the mystery of life changes.
- The Moon and Silence: Traditional poetic symbols of reflection, melancholy, and the passage of time.
Repetition and Chorus
The repeated chorus serves multiple functions:
- Comic rhythm – It lightens the mood and maintains the nonsensical style.
- Narrative consistency – It punctuates each stage of the story, anchoring the reader.
- Irony and reflection – By the end, the chorus is tinged with irony; though they repeat “we think no Birds so happy as we,” they are now left alone and nostalgic, complicating the line with emotion.
The Pelican Chorus is a delightful blend of whimsy and emotional depth, filled with Lear’s characteristic nonsense words and made-up geography. It starts as a celebration of birdly pride and ends as a gentle meditation on change, loss, and memory. Beneath the silliness is a quiet truth: joy and sorrow often walk hand in hand, and even in the animal kingdom—or Lear’s imagined version of it—love leads to inevitable partings. Through its clever blend of fantasy, humor, and pathos, the poem appeals to both children and adults, making it a timeless piece of nonsense verse with real emotional resonance.