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Hunger and Cold by James Russell Lowell

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This poem brings Hunger and Cold to life as two relentless sisters who confront authority in ways that politicians or palace gates never could.

Poet
James Russell Lowell
Core theme
Anger
The PoemFull text

Hunger and Cold

James Russell Lowell

Sisters two, all praise to you, With your faces pinched and blue; To the poor man you've been true From of old: You can speak the keenest word, You are sure of being heard, From the point you're never stirred, Hunger and Cold! Let sleek statesmen temporize; Palsied are their shifts and lies When they meet your bloodshot eyes, Grim and bold; Policy you set at naught, In their traps you'll not be caught, You're too honest to be bought, Hunger and Cold! Bolt and bar the palace door; While the mass of men are poor, Naked truth grows more and more Uncontrolled; You had never yet, I guess, Any praise for bashfulness, You can visit sans court-dress, Hunger and Cold! While the music fell and rose, And the dance reeled to its close, Where her round of costly woes Fashion strolled, I beheld with shuddering fear Wolves' eyes through the windows peer; Little dream they you are near, Hunger and Cold! When the toiler's heart you clutch, Conscience is not valued much, He recks not a bloody smutch On his gold: Everything to you defers, You are potent reasoners, At your whisper Treason stirs, Hunger and Cold! Rude comparisons you draw, Words refuse to sate your maw, Your gaunt limbs the cobweb law Cannot hold: You're not clogged with foolish pride, But can seize a right denied: Somehow God is on your side, Hunger and Cold! You respect no hoary wrong More for having triumphed long; Its past victims, haggard throng, From the mould You unbury: swords and spears Weaker are than poor men's tears, Weaker than your silent years, Hunger and Cold! Let them guard both hall and bower; Through the window you will glower, Patient till your reckoning hour Shall be tolled; Cheeks are pale, but hands are red, Guiltless blood may chance be shed, But ye must and will be fed, Hunger and Cold! God has plans man must not spoil, Some were made to starve and toil, Some to share the wine and oil, We are told: Devil's theories are these, Stifling hope and love and peace, Framed your hideous lusts to please, Hunger and Cold! Scatter ashes on thy head, Tears of burning sorrow shed, Earth! and be by Pity led To Love's fold; Ere they block the very door With lean corpses of the poor, And will hush for naught but gore, Hunger and Cold!

Public domain

Sourced from Project Gutenberg

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§01Quick summary

What this poem is about

This poem brings Hunger and Cold to life as two relentless sisters who confront authority in ways that politicians or palace gates never could. Lowell suggests that when desperation reaches a breaking point, no law, guard, or cunning politician can stop people from rising up. It's a stark warning to the rich and powerful: neglect the poor for too long, and these two sisters will come knocking at your door.

§02Themes

Recurring themes

§03Line by line

Stanza by stanza, with notes

  1. Sisters two, all praise to you, / With your faces pinched and blue;

    Editor's note

    Lowell begins by characterizing Hunger and Cold as two sisters—thin, blue-faced, and age-old companions of the impoverished. Referring to them as "sisters" establishes a familial connection and imparts a certain grim dignity. The mock-hymn tone of "all praise to you" frames the entire poem as a dark, ironic homage.

  2. Let sleek statesmen temporize; / Palsied are their shifts and lies

    Editor's note

    "Sleek statesmen" refer to well-fed politicians who stall, evade, and mislead. However, when Hunger and Cold arrive with their "bloodshot eyes," all that political gamesmanship crumbles. The term "palsied" — which means paralyzed and trembling — implies that true power is shaken by the reality of genuine deprivation.

  3. Bolt and bar the palace door; / While the mass of men are poor,

    Editor's note

    No security measures can hide the reality of widespread poverty. The phrase "Naked truth grows more and more / Uncontrolled" suggests that desperation can't be contained. The joke about showing up "sans court-dress" (without formal attire) is sharp: Hunger and Cold don’t require an invitation or proper attire to enter.

  4. While the music fell and rose, / And the dance reeled to its close,

    Editor's note

    This stanza paints a vivid picture of a lavish ball, filled with music, dancing, and the kind of fashionable misery that often accompanies wealth. Then, Lowell abruptly contrasts this with "wolves' eyes through the windows" — the starving poor peering in from outside. The use of the wolves imagery is both unsettling and intentional; it portrays the poor not merely as passive victims but as a desperate force pushing against the glass.

  5. When the toiler's heart you clutch, / Conscience is not valued much,

    Editor's note

    Here, Lowell highlights the grim reality of desperation: a worker, pushed to the brink by hunger and cold, becomes indifferent to moral boundaries. The phrase "He recks not a bloody smutch / On his gold" conveys that he won’t hesitate to resort to violence to fulfill his needs. This isn't a celebration; it's a cautionary tale about the consequences of a society that drives individuals beyond their breaking point.

  6. Rude comparisons you draw, / Words refuse to sate your maw,

    Editor's note

    Hunger and cold won't disappear just because we talk about them or hand out pamphlets. The line "Your gaunt limbs the cobweb law / Cannot hold" paints a vivid picture: the law is as weak as a cobweb when faced with real physical need. The stanza concludes with a powerful statement — "Somehow God is on your side" — implying that divine justice favors the desperate poor over the comfortable rich.

  7. You respect no hoary wrong / More for having triumphed long;

    Editor's note

    "Hoary wrong" refers to an old injustice that has persisted so long that it feels normal to many. Hunger and Cold don’t discriminate based on how long an injustice has existed—they reveal the harsh reality of it regardless. The image of past victims being "unburied" from the mold implies that the suffering of history resurfaces as proof against the current system.

  8. Let them guard both hall and bower; / Through the window you will glower,

    Editor's note

    Lowell revisits the image of the poor, patiently observing from outside. "Your reckoning hour / Shall be tolled" suggests that the uprising is unavoidable — a bell that will sound regardless of the wealthy's efforts to stop it. The line "Cheeks are pale, but hands are red" starkly forecasts violence if the status quo remains unchanged.

  9. God has plans man must not spoil, / Some were made to starve and toil,

    Editor's note

    This stanza marks a turning point: Lowell references the religious rationale for class inequality—the belief that God has chosen some to suffer while others enjoy abundance—before swiftly denouncing it as "Devil's theories." This serves as a direct challenge to the theology that encourages the poor to remain passive and accept their circumstances.

  10. Scatter ashes on thy head, / Tears of burning sorrow shed,

    Editor's note

    The final stanza directly addresses the Earth, urging it to repent in a tone reminiscent of biblical mourning (ashes on the head). The urgency is palpable: we must act now, driven by compassion and love, or the unfortunate will accumulate as corpses at our doorstep, and the only way to quiet Hunger and Cold will be through blood. This is the poem's most urgent and straightforward appeal.

§04Tone & mood

How this poem feels

The tone is fierce, prophetic, and intentionally unsettling. Lowell writes like an Old Testament prophet sharing a warning that few want to hear — each stanza carries a sense of righteous anger that's kept in check, almost ceremonial, guided by the driving refrain. The mock-hymn structure adds a layer of dark irony: this is a song of praise for suffering, and that praise serves as a critique of those who permit it.

§05Symbols & metaphors

Symbols & metaphors

The two sisters (Hunger and Cold)
Personifying the two most immediate physical expressions of poverty as sisters creates a sense of kinship, permanence, and agency. They aren't just abstract ideas; they are vibrant forces with faces, limbs, and eyes — fiercely loyal to the poor in a way that no institution can match.
Wolves' eyes through the windows
The hungry poor observing the rich party from outside are portrayed as wolves — predatory, hungry, and waiting. It's a cautionary image: those being watched don’t notice the watchers, yet the watchers are present, and they are not subdued.
Cobweb law
The law is likened to a cobweb — it appears to be a barrier, yet it's too delicate to withstand real physical need. It ensnares the weak (like small insects) but gets easily ripped apart by anything with true strength.
The palace door
The bolted palace door symbolizes the physical and social barriers that the wealthy put up to keep poverty hidden. The poem argues that these barriers are ultimately ineffective — Hunger and Cold will always find a way in.
Ashes on the head
A biblical gesture of mourning and repentance. Lowell employs it in the final stanza to urge society to confront its grief and take moral responsibility before it's too late — before bodies accumulate at the door.
The reckoning hour tolled
A tolling bell has long been a symbol of death or a serious moment of judgment. In this context, it announces the unavoidable uprising of the poor — not a mere possibility, but a planned event, as certain as a bell that will inevitably ring.

§06Form & structure

Form & structure

Meter
trochaic tetrameter
Rhyme
AAAB CCCB AAAB CCCB AAAB CCCB AAAB CCCB AAAB CCCB AAAB CCCB AAAB CCCB AAAB CCCB AAAB CCCB AAAB CCCB

§07Historical context

Historical context

James Russell Lowell wrote this poem during a time of significant social turmoil in the mid-nineteenth century. The 1840s, in particular, were marked by widespread famine—most severely in Ireland—alongside rapid industrial growth and increasing labor exploitation throughout Europe and America. As a dedicated abolitionist and social reformer, Lowell crafted poems like this one to accompany his *Biglow Papers*, using sharp political commentary to challenge the complacency of American society. The revolutions in Europe during 1848, largely fueled by food shortages and economic hardship, provide a compelling backdrop for the poem's warnings about the consequences of pushing the poor too far. While Lowell wasn’t a radical revolutionary, he firmly believed that accumulated injustice leads to violent repercussions, and he aimed to make his comfortable readers aware of the dangers looming just outside their lives.

§08FAQ

Questions readers ask

What is the poem's main argument?

Lowell's argument is straightforward and pressing: poverty isn't something we can simply manage as a political issue — it's an unstoppable force. No law, no locked door, and no clever politician can contain the desperation of those who are truly hungry and cold. If society fails to respond to that desperation with justice and compassion, it will inevitably be addressed through violence.

Why does Lowell praise Hunger and Cold? Aren't they bad things?

The praise carries a sense of irony. Lowell isn't celebrating suffering; instead, he's highlighting that Hunger and Cold are the only forces truly honest and strong enough to pierce through political deception and societal complacency. They "speak the keenest word" because they can't be bribed, postponed, or overlooked like a reformer or a petition can be. This praise ultimately serves as a critique of a society that relies on such harsh realities to reveal the truth.

What does 'cobweb law' mean?

It suggests that the law appears to be a barrier, but in reality, it's too feeble to stop genuine physical needs. A cobweb can trap small, vulnerable creatures but will break apart when anything with real strength pushes through it. Lowell is pointing out that legal frameworks intended to safeguard property and maintain order fail against those who are starving.

Who are the 'sleek statesmen' Lowell attacks?

They are the well-fed, comfortable politicians who "temporize" — that is, they delay, hedge, and make excuses instead of tackling poverty head-on. Lowell doesn’t mention anyone by name, but he’s aiming at any political class that values stability and their own comfort more than the struggles of the poor.

What is Lowell saying in the stanza about God's plans?

That stanza references the frequent religious claim that God has chosen certain people to suffer and labor while others bask in wealth — and then it swiftly labels this notion as a lie crafted by the devil. Lowell is criticizing the theology that encourages the poor to accept their plight as part of God's plan. He argues that this reasoning exists to benefit Hunger and Cold, not to honor God.

Is the poem predicting a revolution?

Yes, that's right. Lowell doesn't explicitly call for a revolution, but the poem serves as a warning that one could erupt if things remain the same. The wolves at the window, the tolling of the reckoning hour, the corpses piling up at the door — all of this signals an unavoidable violent confrontation. The final stanza is a desperate plea for repentance before that moment comes.

What is the effect of the repeated refrain 'Hunger and Cold'?

The refrain acts like a drumbeat, constantly returning to the central, unavoidable reality regardless of what the previous stanza covered. It also reflects the unyielding nature of poverty: discussions about politics, fashion, law, or religion always circle back to Hunger and Cold, which are ever-present, waiting at the conclusion of every thought.

How does the poem's structure reinforce its meaning?

Each stanza is compact and energetic, featuring a clear rhyme scheme (AAA/B, CCCC/B) that creates a hymn-like drive. This structure is intentional — Lowell crafts a dark parody of a praise hymn, utilizing the style of devotional verse to honor the two forces that reveal society's shortcomings. The consistency of the form also reflects the unyielding, steady nature he assigns to Hunger and Cold.

Citation

Cite this poem

MLA

Lowell, James Russell. "Hunger and Cold." Storgy, https://storgy.com/poems/hunger-and-cold-james-russell-lowell/.

APA

Lowell, J. R. (n.d.). Hunger and cold. Storgy. https://storgy.com/poems/hunger-and-cold-james-russell-lowell/

TeacherAP Lit Q1 scaffold — preview

Row A — Thesis

1 pt

In 'Hunger and Cold,' James Russell Lowell personifies destitution not as a social ill to be pitied but as an irresistible political force, arguing that the suffering of the poor ultimately overrides every institution — legal, economic, and …

  • Row B — Evidence + Commentary4 pts
  • Row C — Sophistication1 pt
  • Common student errors
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