When we speak of the sea, we think of tall ships, pirates, buried treasure and far away lands. But the sea can mean many things, and has to many writers.
Some, like Frederick Marryat looked to the sea for adventure, others, like Robert Louis Stevenson, to explain the bravery of man. Joseph Conrad and Herman Melville, wrote their maritime tales and poems attempting to explain man, his motives, his identity and spirituality.
It's this wide array that I find interesting, how man approaches the sea, what he makes of it. Melville, in his poem Far Off-Shore uses a metaphor, in simple, stark language to present the detachment of man and nature, a poem in which a raft, nearing the shore, has not a soul on board. This theme is echoed by the mysterious cries of the gulls who fly about above, wondering of the riddle.
Antonio de Castro Alves' approach was far different. In his poem,
The Slave Ship he touches upon the issue of slavery. His highly charged style evokes the horrors that were all too real, the cruelty of man when he sees himself superior to another. Its poignant words state the injustice in a style that evokes sympathy and compassion. It combines both the ghostly elements of Melville's poetry and prose with the romantic mystical qualities of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
Filled with complex symbolism and metaphor, Coleridge's poem intrigues the reader with its allegorical and seemingly pagan allusions. Even if the reader can't unravel the mysteries of the poems allegory, they may be thrilled by its horrific scenes and hyperbolic narrative.
Quite different from Coleridge's poem, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's, "The Wreck of the Hesperus" shares "The Rime's" literal theme of man against nature. Realistic in subject and romantic in style, it tells the story of a fated voyage during a Northeaster off the Atlantic coast. Based upon real events, the poem follows the Hesperus' intrepid captain and his daughter, who both perish at the helm. It speaks of the American ideal of the mid-nineteenth century, and while elevated in tone, spoke of real horrors that many seaman at that time faced.
Though not about the sea, the more classical subject matter in Robert Crawford's Charon still seems a natural transition from Longfellow's poem. Relying on Greek Mythology, the poem relates the passage of the newly deceased across the river that separates the living from the land of the dead.
Following the common example, the ferryman is aged, white haired, and solemn. Yet the poem has a soothing tone usually not equated with this crossing, though it manages to still maintain some of the mystery.
Less dire, is the poem, A Channel Passage by Rupert Brooke. It's a love poem, sort of...its real intent might be to express the feelings of a failed romance. He equates it with his seasickness, and using several graphic examples persuades the reader that there is little choice between the nausea of the rolling seas and the misery of failed love. After reading Brooke's poem we are both repelled and intrigued at the comparison, for most of us probably have memories that we facetiously deem worthy of the comparison.
After five poems with varying, dramatic tones, the read could might wish for a change of sail, so to speak. Carolyn Wells The Pirate Poodle is a humorous tale, with its anti-hero, the antithesis of the seamen mentioned above. Pirate Poodle may, in his broad humor, better represent the average man, than any of the other poems mentioned in this column. Poodle is a boaster, he tells outlandish tales, and yet, at the slightest noise, he hides himself below deck! The poem may not have the serious intent of the other five, but by contrast with those poems, the reader sees the breadth of inspiration that writers have found in the maritime.
These are just five examples, each very different, and yet they all cover in their way, different aspects, attempting to convey who or what we are...and that is the sea, the rivers, the lakes, the bodies of water, symbols of mankind that try to explain the human condition.
Author notes
I chose A.) Maritime. The six poems are linked in the column itself.
A contest entry
- COLUMN: Poems For Reading Out Loud by Old Poetry.
1200 points, ended October 7, 2008, 8 entries
Silver trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
1 - 14 of 14
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Although including each of the poems made this the longest of the competition entries to read i still enjoyed the experience of reading the column and following the thoughts of the various poets selected and the linking passages you provided.
My enjoyment was enhanced by the choice of some lesser known poets and poems and poets not noted for their maritime tendencies as well as an odd "Big-Name". With a few judicious cuts (to shorten some pieces) it would make a good presentation.
The opening poems of Melville and Coleridge and Longfellow are a little lengthy to maintain the audiences interest but the application of the censors shears would sort that out and give you some good serious maritime poems to grip your audience.
The choice of Crawford's Charon after those opening heavyweights was interesting and would, I believe, work well.
Brooke was a suprising presence here (and in one other of the entries) but the chosen poem fits well with the theme and is one which many a sailor (including Nelson) will have experienced. That second verse is too too realstic
Your final choice of Well's Pirate Poodle was a nice one. It leaves the audience in a good mood and it does show one of the characteristics of many a matelot. Boasting.
Sad that we didn't have a sixth poem as requested although the that would have stretched the time budget.
This was one of the best linked pieces with as much or more thought going to the links as to the selection of the poems themselves.
Well Done
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Beautifully arranged and edited Mari.So many perspectives of the Ocean as a living, breathing entity in it's own right. Great choices of poems too. Von
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I think of those but I also think of the ocean and its
individual parts that make it up, hence just a collection of raindrops pulled from all continents on
earth to a single collective spot of (back home).
We can look and see just the surface or dive in
to see its underbelly and yet we will not fully
understand it until its "individual" parts are known.
I wonder if we could learn anything from that...
Have a lovely week...
Hugs...Eddy
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Sir Ima Sea Cucumber. Someone ought to write a poem about that...
Alves' poem (and your translation) amazes me as much now as it did when I first read it.
It's too bad Sesame Street's "Rubber Ducky" had to be written after 1955. For that would be a seminal tale of the sea...
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The sea... Where we all come from if we go back in time far enough.
What safe harbor it is, for all those mysteries it's still keeping away from us - greedy humans - and all I hope, is that it'll keep it's mysteries for itself...
Unless it's a ginormous four-finned creature, with huge glaring eyes and a sticky tongue to chew all our asses to pieces (well, the asses of those people who dump their waste and whatever into the ocean)
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The owl and the pussycat went to sea
in a beautiful peagreen boat.
The Pirate Poodle is a wonderful poem and reminded me of the piece by Edward Lear. It's a good idea to have some comice relief at the end. I will go back and read the other poems though I'm a bit intimidated by The Ancient Mariner.
A well written column.
PS congratulations on winning the silver. I still haven't reread The Ancient Mariner but I would really like to because I can't remember how it ends! I think most of it actually is a flashback and starts when the wedding guest is approached by this old man, the ancient mariner. Anyway, I will read it when I get a chance.
Love the sea and love poetry about the sea. Thank you for this column.
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What a scholarly response to my little challenge. I have enjoyed seeing the way you link these disparate pieces into a single coherent piece.
Whilst the entire texts of the seperate poems runs to 26 pages at my normal print size and thus would equate to something over 2 hours reading aloud I am sure with a judicious selection from some of the longer offerings this would trim to 15 minutes as requested and provide both a pleasant and an instructive session for "listeners at the museum"
Thank you for the thought and the effort that you have put into this. I am now going to take the time to read each of the poems in sequence (thanks for the translation by-the-way).
Jim
PS
OOPS!! I see I put at least 15 minutes in my competition rules so ignore my comment above. 15 was the maximum for the real life session I did
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Thanks Jim I cannot take all the credit to myself though. With a trip to Prague scheduled, I asked Yemassee to finish editing it for me, which he did. I added him as collaborator in this work.
There was another poem I'd like to have included: Song From The Ship by Thomas Lovell Beddoes, but I guess reading the 6 poems was already long enough
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I'm at work at the moment; I would have to come back to read this again..and again. I love anything nautical, I love the sea, I love the sea and nature as metaphor. Wonderful writing... I'll be back when I have more time to enjoy and fully appreciate this write.
~ Nicolette
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Hmm...three yellow clapping dudes for the persona suit of Mari lol.
for posting this and for the links to OP
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I wondered how one might approach this OP task, and this is very creative and instructive. I read the links and have to agree these are some profound and enlightening examples. I enjoyed this column, I learned somethings too, although these are among my favorite writers[Coleridge and Brooke], and the Slave Ships or Navios Negros show not only poetry but social protest, and how poetic language and imagery can become tools for action in the real world, to improve the human condition...excellent scholarship here, points are well done and supported...PK
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Excellent selection of poems, each different in tone and style. Most are short and would be easy to read and the two which are long could easily be read as excerpts...I think.
You forgot one..."Rub-a-dub-dub, three men in a tub."
Which might be a tale about boats given the right circumstances.
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Hi Mari
yeah Wow this is serious research...
yes so many emotions that the sea can give to us...for me it gives me contemplation.
This is definitely your element...the water and your metaphor is the sea.
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excellent
Wow sis
This took some researching to do...you have did an excellent job here..I read The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner in high school and had all but forgotten until I read this...I always thought of pirates and the seas..the loot they found..and treasures that captured their eyes...
This is wonderful
Best of luck in the contest
This is a winner in my book
I have up one or two new ones hope you drop by and see me to
Hugs
Your sis
Susan~~~
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