Alden Nowlan (Leaving Cert English): Revision Notes
In Praise of the Great Bull Walrus
About the poet
Alden Nowlan (1933-1983) was a celebrated Canadian poet whose life experiences deeply influenced his writing style and themes. Born into rural poverty, Nowlan faced significant challenges from an early age - his mother was only fourteen when he was born, and he was primarily raised by his grandmother. His father worked as a manual labourer and placed little value on education, creating a difficult home environment for a young person with literary aspirations.
Nowlan's challenging childhood and lack of formal education actually became strengths in his poetry, giving him an authentic voice that resonated with working-class readers and made his work highly accessible.
Despite these obstacles, Nowlan was determined to educate himself. He left school at an early age, but at sixteen, he joined a library where he taught himself through extensive reading. His passion for literature led him to use a fake CV at nineteen to secure a position at The Observer newspaper, where he began writing poetry seriously. This self-directed learning and working-class background would later influence the accessible, conversational style that made him one of Canada's most popular 20th-century poets. Tragically, Nowlan died at the young age of fifty from respiratory failure, but not before publishing numerous poetry collections that resonated with readers across Canada.
What the poem is about
"In Praise of the Great Bull Walrus" is fundamentally a celebration of nature and the profound joy that comes from sharing our planet with remarkable animals. The poem presents the speaker's imaginative daydream about spending one sunny afternoon relaxing on rocks alongside walruses, simply enjoying their company in peaceful coexistence.
The central message emerges through the speaker's reflexion that it would be "terrible never to have been born" because we would have missed encountering such magnificent creatures and experiencing such simple happiness. This seemingly straightforward observation carries deeper meaning about gratitude for existence and our connection to the natural world.
The poem's central philosophy challenges readers to appreciate the basic gift of existence itself - not for achievements or success, but simply for the opportunity to witness and share the world with other living beings.
Speaker and point of view
The poem employs a first-person speaker who demonstrates a playful and imaginative personality. This speaker enjoys daydreaming and allows their imagination to wander freely, creating vivid scenarios of interaction with wildlife. The writing style mirrors thoughts flowing freely, resembling what literary critics call "stream of consciousness" - where one idea naturally leads to another without formal structure or interruption.
This technique creates an intimate, personal tone that makes readers feel as though they're listening to someone's private thoughts and musings about nature and life.
Structure and development
The poem follows a clear progression through five main stages that take the reader from fantasy to philosophical reflexion:
Structural Analysis: The Five-Stage Journey
Stage 1: Fantasy establishment - "I wouldn't want to be a walrus forever, but would love one sunny afternoon"
Stage 2: Human comparison - connecting walruses to longshoremen in taverns
Stage 3: Imagined interaction - easy, friendly conversation with the walrus
Stage 4: Philosophical reflexion - "how good it is to be alive"
Stage 5: Central revelation - the tragedy would be never being born at all
Stage 1: The speaker establishes their desire - they wouldn't want to be a walrus permanently, but would love one sunny afternoon spent with them on the rocks, emphasising the appeal of temporary, peaceful companionship.
Stage 2: A crucial comparison emerges between this imagined lazy afternoon and men drinking in a tavern. The speaker specifically mentions longshoremen (dock workers), noting their big bodies, simple comfort, and male-only social space. This comparison is significant because it connects the walruses' physical presence and relaxed nature to familiar human experiences.
Stage 3: The speaker imagines having easy, friendly conversation with a "big old walrus," emphasising that this would be nothing serious - just warm, simple conversation without pressure or complicated topics.
Stage 4: The mood becomes more reflective as the speaker considers how good it is to be alive and able to share the world with such remarkable creatures. This marks the transition from playful fantasy to deeper contemplation.
Stage 5: The final thought crystallises the poem's central message: the worst tragedy would be not being born at all. However, since we were born, we can enjoy both nature and life itself.
Literary techniques
Imagery and comparisons
Nowlan uses carefully chosen images to create specific moods and associations:
Pay close attention to how Nowlan's imagery connects the animal and human worlds - this connection is central to understanding the poem's message about shared existence and simple pleasures.
- Walruses on rocks represent calm, heavy, contented presence - creatures completely at peace in their environment
- Tavern of longshoremen creates an image of a male group relaxing after physical work, with big bodies similar to walruses, emphasising simple comfort and camaraderie
- Small talk with a walrus suggests comfort, friendliness, and no pressure - the kind of easy interaction that requires no performance or pretence
- "Sharing the earth" implies respect for all living creatures and recognition of our common home
Tone and mood
The poem's emotional journey moves from playful, warm, and relaxed to thoughtful and thankful. There's a distinctive mixture of humour (particularly in the imagined conversation with a walrus) and gratitude (feeling lucky to be alive and experience the world's wonders). This combination creates a tone that's both lighthearted and meaningful.
Major themes
Joy of nature
The poem suggests that animals make life richer and more meaningful. The speaker finds genuine pleasure in imagining time spent with walruses, highlighting how nature can provide simple yet profound satisfaction.
Being alive matters
Central to the poem is the recognition that not being born would mean missing all the wonderful experiences life offers. The speaker emphasises that existence itself is valuable because it allows us to witness and interact with the natural world.
Simple companionship
The poem celebrates the idea that an afternoon of easy company can be perfect. There's no need for complex conversations or activities - sometimes the most meaningful experiences come from uncomplicated presence and peaceful coexistence.
Work versus intellect
The comparison with longshoremen reveals the speaker's appreciation for simple relaxation after hard work. Sometimes it's beneficial to switch off intellectual concerns and simply enjoy the world around us without overthinking.
Notice how all these themes centre around simplicity and appreciation rather than achievement or complexity. Nowlan values the basic human capacity for wonder and contentment.
Form and language
As a poem studied at Ordinary Level, it's important to understand Nowlan's technical choices:
Free verse structure
The poem uses free verse, meaning it has no regular rhyme scheme or metre. This allows the thoughts to flow naturally, supporting the conversational, stream-of-consciousness style.
Enjambment
Run-on lines allow thoughts to spill over from one line to the next naturally, mimicking how our minds actually work when we're daydreaming or thinking freely.
Conversational voice
The language feels like natural speech rather than formal poetry. This stream of consciousness approach means one thought leads naturally to another, creating an intimate, accessible tone.
Sound effects
Nowlan includes some half-rhyme and assonance (particularly long "oo" sounds in the imagined conversation) that creates a gentle, musical quality without forcing rigid rhyme schemes.
The technical choices all support the poem's central message - just as the speaker values simple, natural interaction with walruses, Nowlan chooses simple, natural poetic techniques that don't call attention to themselves.
Key quotations
These quotations capture the poem's progression from playful imagination to profound philosophical insight. Notice how the language remains simple throughout, even when expressing deep ideas.
- "wouldn't want to be a walrus forever, but would love one sunny afternoon with them" - establishes the poem's central scenario
- "men drinking in a tavern - longshoremen" - crucial comparison linking walruses to human relaxation
- "how good it is to be alive" - the poem's reflective turn towards gratitude
- "the worst tragedy would be not being born" - the central philosophical message
Remember!
Key Points to Remember:
- The poem celebrates both nature and the simple gift of being alive - Nowlan uses walruses as symbols of peaceful, contented existence
- The comparison with longshoremen is key - it connects animal relaxation to familiar human experiences of unwinding after work
- The tone shifts from playful to reflective - beginning with humourous imagination but ending with serious gratitude for existence
- Free verse and conversational language support the stream-of-consciousness style, making the poem feel like natural thought
- The central message is about gratitude - we're fortunate to be born because we can experience the world's wonders and share the earth with amazing creatures