November Poem by Thomas Hood

November

Rating: 3.2


No sun - no moon!
No morn - no noon -
No dawn - no dusk - no proper time of day.
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member -
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds! -
November!

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Christine Sweeney 12 September 2012

The poem actually has several more verses, showing what the month was like in fog-filled London in the early Victorian period when he wrote it. It's most quoted version is as above; probably from a 1980s pop band using it on an album, though I'm not sure of that. As a child I always resented it because I was a November baby and it was always quoted at me on my birthday. I like it better if I see it as a description of a specific time and place in that month rather than an insult to the month (though I do have to admit it is sometimes true of November!) .

10 9 Reply
Andy 28 November 2021

The poem was used by 'The Art of Noise' on their Album 'Invisible Silence', the first track 'Opus 4'

0 0
Ian Fraser 06 February 2009

No-one who has experienced the English winter can read this poem without a shiver of amusement!

10 7 Reply
Judy Wild 01 November 2015

The previous poem is the full version. Looking out of my window first thing this 1st November morning of 2015, brought it to mind. A true celebration of the month ahead...but I do believe the sun is trying to break through! So flee depression!

9 5 Reply
Alesia Leach 01 November 2014

That's November for you. The blah month.

7 3 Reply
Boris Johnson 03 November 2019

No Brexit! ! And I'm dead in a ditch

2 0 Reply
Sarah Higbee 30 October 2019

It's not a comment on the weather, but about the smog that blotted out everything in a sulphurous yellow haze that tasted of coal and made you cough. You could hardly see your hand in front of your face and it brought on asthma and fits of coughing, killing dozens of people afflicted with breathing problems... The world was reduced to a twilight haze and people were advised to stay indoors - THAT'S what this poem is about!

4 2 Reply
Philbo Baggins 28 October 2019

What a miserable tw*t

0 7 Reply
Nigel Johnson 01 September 2019

Clearly a time before global warming. This is the November of my childhood, a time of winter fog, ice and snow. I long for the seasons to return. The complete version of the poem is even more evocative of this time of year.

1 1 Reply
Nigel Johnson 01 September 2019

Clearly a time before global warming. This is the November of my childhood, a time of winter fog, ice and snow. I long for the seasons to return. The full version of the poem is even more evocative of this time of year.

2 1 Reply
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Thomas Hood

Thomas Hood

London / England
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