A FABLE by James Russell Lowell: Summary, Meaning & Analysis
Two friends sneak away on a Sunday to go hunting and end up shooting a goose that belongs to a local deacon.
The poem
Two fellers, Isrel named and Joe, One Sundy mornin' 'greed to go Agunnin' soon 'z the bells wuz done And meetin' finally begun, So'st no one wouldn't be about Ther Sabbath-breakin' to spy out. Joe didn't want to go a mite; He felt ez though 'twarn't skeercely right, But, when his doubts he went to speak on, Isrel he up and called him Deacon, An' kep' apokin' fun like sin An' then arubbin' on it in, Till Joe, less skeered o' doin' wrong Than bein' laughed at, went along. Past noontime they went trampin' round An' nary thing to pop at found, Till, fairly tired o' their spree, They leaned their guns agin a tree, An' jest ez they wuz settin' down To take their noonin', Joe looked roun' And see (acrost lots in a pond That warn't mor'n twenty rod beyond) A goose that on the water sot Ez ef awaitin' to be shot. Isrel he ups and grabs his gun; Sez he, 'By ginger, here's some fun!' 'Don't fire,' sez Joe, 'it ain't no use, Thet's Deacon Peleg's tame wil'-goose:' Sez Isrel, 'I don't care a cent. I've sighted an' I'll let her went;' _Bang!_ went queen's-arm, ole gander flopped His wings a spell, an' quorked, an' dropped. Sez Joe, 'I wouldn't ha' been hired At that poor critter to ha' fired, But since it's clean gin up the ghost, We'll hev the tallest kind o' roast; I guess our waistbands'll be tight 'Fore it comes ten o'clock ternight.' 'I won't agree to no such bender,' Sez Isrel; 'keep it tell it's tender; 'Tain't wuth a snap afore it's ripe.' Sez Joe, 'I'd jest ez lives eat tripe; You _air_ a buster ter suppose I'd eat what makes me hol' my nose!' So they disputed to an' fro Till cunnin' Isrel sez to Joe, 'Don't le's stay here an' play the fool, Le's wait till both on us git cool, Jest for a day or two le's hide it, An' then toss up an' so decide it.' 'Agreed!' sez Joe, an' so they did, An' the ole goose wuz safely hid. Now 'twuz the hottest kind o' weather, An' when at last they come together, It didn't signify which won, Fer all the mischief hed been done: The goose wuz there, but, fer his soul, Joe wouldn't ha' tetched it with a pole; But Isrel kind o' liked the smell on 't An' made _his_ dinner very well on 't. My own humble attempt was in manner and form following, and I print it here, I sincerely trust, out of no vainglory, but solely with the hope of doing good.
Two friends sneak away on a Sunday to go hunting and end up shooting a goose that belongs to a local deacon. They bicker over whether to eat it fresh or wait, eventually deciding to hide it for a few days. When they return, they discover it's gone bad — although one of them isn’t bothered by the smell and eats it anyway. This comic folk tale in verse illustrates how peer pressure, stubbornness, and moral compromise often lead to unfortunate (or at least smelly) outcomes.
Line-by-line
Two fellers, Isrel named and Joe, / One Sundy mornin' 'greed to go
Joe didn't want to go a mite; / He felt ez though 'twarn't skeercely right,
Past noontime they went trampin' round / An' nary thing to pop at found,
Isrel he ups and grabs his gun; / Sez he, 'By ginger, here's some fun!'
Sez Joe, 'I wouldn't ha' been hired / At that poor critter to ha' fired,
'I won't agree to no such bender,' / Sez Isrel; 'keep it tell it's tender;
So they disputed to an' fro / Till cunnin' Isrel sez to Joe,
Now 'twuz the hottest kind o' weather, / An' when at last they come together,
Tone & mood
The tone is humorously warm and gently satirical. Lowell captures rural New England vernacular with perfect accuracy, and the humor is light-hearted — it’s the kind of knowing laugh you get from observing people make familiar human errors. Beneath the comedy lies a dry moral seriousness: the poem is literally titled a fable, and it truly earns that title by allowing the consequences to convey the moral.
Symbols & metaphors
- The goose — The goose represents the classic 'forbidden fruit' — owned by a deacon (of all people), it appears just when temptation is strongest, and ultimately becomes rotted and useless. It symbolizes any ill-gotten gain that seems attractive at first but ultimately leads to nothing.
- The Sabbath / Sunday morning — Sunday isn't merely another day of the week here; it's the backbone of our community's moral expectations. Skipping out during church service is seen as the first act of cowardice that triggers everything else.
- The coin toss — Leaving a moral question to chance is a way of avoiding moral responsibility. The coin toss illustrates how people hide behind 'fairness' to dodge accountability — and in this case, it makes no difference, as the goose spoils before the toss even matters.
- The smell — The scent in the poem closely follows the theme of moral decay. Joe's repulsion towards the decaying goose reflects his earlier, though quickly buried, disgust for breaking the Sabbath and stealing. Isrel's acceptance of the smell reveals his deeper moral indifference.
Historical context
James Russell Lowell published *The Biglow Papers* (First Series, 1848) to satirize the Mexican-American War, using a fictional Yankee farmer named Hosea Biglow to express the skepticism of New England's everyday people. "A Fable" fits into this tradition of dialect verse—a style Lowell helped establish in American literature. By writing in phonetic New England speech, he aimed to elevate the moral authority of ordinary rural voices over that of educated elites. Although Lowell was a Harvard professor and later a diplomat, the dialect was more of a literary disguise than his natural way of speaking. The poem's introductory note, describing the author’s "humble attempt" to "do good," serves as a humorous jab, echoing the characters' own self-serving justifications. This fable tradition traces back to Aesop and La Fontaine, yet it is firmly rooted in an American context.
FAQ
The poem doesn’t explicitly give a moral, which is part of the humor in referring to it as a fable. Still, the lesson is evident: when you let the fear of being ridiculed take precedence over your sense of right and wrong, and you choose to participate in something you know is wrong, only to squabble over the results, you end up with nothing. The decayed goose symbolizes the consequences of every poor choice the two men made.
Lowell intentionally mimicked the rural New England speech known as the 'Yankee' vernacular from mid-19th-century Massachusetts. He maintained this voice throughout *The Biglow Papers* to convey moral and political messages through everyday characters instead of learned narrators. This dialect gives the poem the feeling of a tale shared by a neighbor rather than a lecture delivered by a professor.
Deacon Peleg is a well-regarded member of the church community — a deacon, the same title Israel mockingly used to pressure Joe into going hunting. Shooting a deacon's goose on a Sunday, while also skipping church, adds a twist to the wrongdoing: they're stealing from the very institution they’re actively dissing.
Lowell makes his point clear: Joe is 'less skeered o' doin' wrong / Than bein' laughed at.' He'd prefer to sin than face mockery for his conscience. This is the poem's most striking insight—social embarrassment often outweighs moral conviction for many individuals.
It's a casual term for a musket or flintlock rifle — a 'queen's arm' or 'king's arm' refers to a military-style long gun. Lowell uses it to add local character and a sense of the time period.
It's linked to the tradition of Lowell's *Biglow Papers*, his well-known series of dialect poems, although 'A Fable' can hold its own. The playful, self-effacing note at the end—about printing it 'out of no vainglory' to 'do good'—shows Lowell giving a nod to the reader, poking fun at the self-righteous tone often found in moral literature.
It's both the comic payoff and the moral punchline. Isrel was the one pulling the strings all along—he pressured Joe, fired the shot, and pushed for the delay. In the end, he ends up eating spoiled stolen meat and calling it dinner. Joe, who had the most conscience from the start, walks away with nothing. Neither outcome feels like a reward.
It's crafted in rhyming couplets that follow a loose iambic tetrameter — the same lively, conversational rhythm found in folk ballads and comic poetry. The use of dialect spelling and the story's structure (with a moral lesson) firmly situate it within the American folk-fable tradition.