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The bells gave tongue: Gaude, Sabaoth, John, Jericho…

“The bells gave tongue: Gaude, Sabaoth, John, Jericho, Jubilee, Dimity, Batty Thomas and Tailor Paul, rioting and exulting high up in the dark tower, wide mouths rising and falling, brazen tongues clamouring, huge wheels turning to the dance of the leaping ropes. Tin tan din dan bim bam bom bo--tan…” quote by Dorothy L. Sayers
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““The bells gave tongue: Gaude, Sabaoth, John, Jericho, Jubilee, Dimity, Batty Thomas and Tailor Paul, rioting and exulting high up in the dark tower, wide mouths rising and falling, brazen tongues clamouring, huge wheels turning to the dance of the leaping ropes. Tin tan din dan bim bam bom bo--tan tin din dan bam bim bo bom--tan dan tin bam din bo bim bom--every bell in her place striking tuneably, hunting up, hunting down, dodging, snapping, laying her blows behind, making her thirds and fourths, working down to lead the dance again. Out over the flat, white wastes of fen, over the spear-straight, steel-dark dykes and the wind-bent, groaning poplar trees, bursting from the snow-choked louvres of the belfry, whirled away southward and westward in gusty blasts of clamour to the sleeping counties went the music of the bells--little Gaude, silver Sabaoth, strong John and Jericho, glad Jubilee, sweet Dimity and old Batty Thomas, with great Tailor Paul bawling and striding like a giant in the midst of them. Up and down went the shadows of the ringers upon the walls, up and down went the scarlet sallies flickering roofwards and floorwards, and up and down, hunting in their courses, went the bells of Fenchurch St. Paul.””

Dorothy L. Sayers

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A vivid, chaotic description of bells ringing across a landscape, evoking sound, movement, and atmosphere.

In simple terms: Bells create a noisy, lively scene.

Key Takeaway

Listen to the rhythm of your surroundings.

Themes

sound movement atmosphere chaos ritual

Mood

evocative energetic melancholic

Type

literary descriptive poetic

When to use this quote

  • church services
  • festivals
  • nighttime city walks
  • historical tours

Key Concepts

auditory imagery symbolism urban landscape

Questions to Reflect On

  • How does sound shape your perception of place?
  • What emotions do the bells evoke?
A Different Perspective

The passage may overwhelm readers unfamiliar with the setting.

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