: poem of George Herbert "The Collar" Analysis

I struck the board, and cried "No more!
I will abroad.
What, shall I ever sigh and pine?
My lines and life are free; free as the road,
Loose as the wind, as large as store.
Shall I be still in suit?
Have I no harvest but a thorn
To let me blood, and not restore
What I have lost with cordial fruit?
Sure there was wine
Before my sighs did dry it; there was corn
Before my tears did drown it.
Is the year only lost to me?
Have I no bays to crown it?
No flowers, no garlands gay? all blasted?
All wasted?
Not so, my heart: but there is fruit,
And thou hast hands.
Recover all thy sigh-blown age
On double pleasures: leave thy cold dispute
Of what is fit, and not. Forsake thy cage,
Thy rope of sands,
Which petty thoughts have made, and made to thee
Good cable, to enforce and draw,
And be thy law,
While thou didst wink and wouldst not see.
Away; take heed:
I will abroad.
Call in thy death's head there: tie up thy fears.
He that forbears
To suit and serve his need,
Deserves his load."
But as I raved and grew more fierce and wild
At every word,
Methoughts I heard one calling "Child!"
And I replied "My Lord".

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| Posted on 2011-11-25 | by a guest

The Poem
“The Collar” is George Herbert’s most extensive and detailed poem of rebellion. Thirty-two of its thirty-six lines describe what the poem itself calls the ravings of a person growing “more fierce and wild” as he strains to release himself from the restrictive pressures that surround him. Much like John Donne’s energetic complaints to God in several of his Holy Sonnets, “The Collar” gives full expression to the speaker’s resentment of the pain and rigor of leading a life that is moral and holy. Only after these complaints are freely, almost hysterically voiced is the speaker taught how quickly they can be banished by a patient God who ultimately gives more than he asks.
The poem begins with a dramatic statement of refusal—“I struck the board, and cried, No more”—and the following lines give examples of the kind of life that the speaker wants to leave behind. He is a person of ambition and desire, yet everything in life seems to conspire to frustrate or torment him. His life is one of “sighs” and “tears,” a situation he finds particularly distressing because he can readily imagine the joys and glories, the wine, fruit, and flowers, that are withheld from him.
The process of describing his past failure to seize the available pleasures of life makes him more determined to change his ways immediately and exchange his tears for the pursuit of “double pleasures.” Like a libertine, he suggests that inhibitions and moral laws are only a “rope of sands” once a person decides not to be bound by them. Instead of being blind to the forbidden pleasures of life, he will now serve only his needs and desires. Enraptured by his own enthusiasm, even the death’s-head, the traditional reminder of mortality and the nearness of judgment, is no longer intimidating and will certainly not be part of his luggage as he prepares to go abroad. He is confident that all of his fears can be neatly bundled up and left behind, and he attempts to wind up his argument with what sounds like a proverb celebrating his new creed of practical selfishness: “He that forbears/ To suit and serve his need,/ Deserves his load.”
This is not, however, the true finale of his argument, which is provided by the intervention of a holy voice, a device used in several other key poems by Herbert. All the ravings of the speaker are answered by one gentle word, “Child,” an almost miraculous reminder that not only is the speaker always overheard by God, but, more important, he is always protected, instructed, and accepted. This is the way the world of rebellion ends, not with a bang but with a whisper, and when the speaker replies “My Lord,” he acknowledges not only that his rebelliousness is at an end but that devotion to such a Lord is not painful servitude but joyful freedom. In a curious way, the story of this poem is thus foretold by the multiple meanings hinted at by the title: “The Collar” suggests a restrictive collar that the speaker wants to slip and the angry “choler” to which he gives voice throughout most of the lines; yet even in the depths of his anger and rebelliousness, the speaker is a “caller,” and God is always ready to answer.
Forms and Devices
One of the most interesting aspects of “The Collar” is the way the form of the poem helps to convey not only the dramatic rebelliousness of the speaker but also the concluding resolution. The speaker’s anger and nervousness are underscored in several ways. His speech pattern is halting and constantly interrupted. Many of the statements are short, and the frequent punctuation in the lines gives them a clipped, staccato sound, adding to the impression of uneasiness. Any sense that this is the speech of a confident and determined man is also undermined by the fact that much of it takes the form of questions. These are meant to be rhetorical questions, but still they suggest that the speaker is plagued with doubts.
At first glance, the overall structure of “The Collar” seems to mirror the state of mind of the speaker. The line lengths alternate in an apparently irregular pattern, and the rhyme scheme is difficult to assess. As a result, the structure of the poem may be taken as an embodiment of the rebelliousness of the man who is in the process of swearing off all laws and restrictions. “My lines and life are free,” he says, and the irregular lines of the poem signify his first step toward a life of pleasurable transgression. From another perspective, the form of the poem seems not so much free as chaotic, thus subtly indicating that a person who repudiates the legal and moral restrictions of life abandons the basic principles of order and thereby begins a descent into incoherence, the necessary by-product of rebelliousness.
The structure of “The Collar,” however, is neither completely free nor chaotic, but extremely subtle, discernible only after careful and patient analysis. Beneath the superficial disorder, or developing progressively through it, is an orderly pattern that climaxes in the last four lines of the poem. This is best seen in the rhyme scheme. As Joseph H. Summers points out in George Herbert: His Religion and Art (1954), every line in “The Collar” finds a rhyme somewhere, but through most of the poem there are many off-rhymes, and because rhymes do not occur at predictable, regular intervals, they sometimes undermine rather than create a sense of closure. Near the end, the rhyming lines begin to occur closer and closer, but the speaker’s last assertion that he is tying up his fears is still belied by the irregular off-rhymes (abroad/load, fears/forbears). Only in the last four lines do the rhymes become regular (alternating abab) and purposeful: The designation of the speaker as “wild” is replaced by the new name given to him, “Child,” and his every “word” of rebelliousness gives way to “Lord,” the divine word capable of redeeming human anger, weakness, and folly.
Themes and Meanings
The recurrent topic of Herbert’s poems is not perfection but correction. Perfection is unreachable, but constant correction is one of the rules of religious life (and religious poetry) for Herbert. The speaker of “The Collar” is by no means wicked or reprehensible. He is, in fact, all too human, and his protest against the inevitable disappointments, restrictions, and pains of life is one with which most of the readers of this poem can sympathize and identify. Much to his credit, Herbert never denies the validity of the experiences described in “The Collar” or suggests that such feelings, however confused or disordered or angry, are unworthy of expression. Herbert knew that the Bible, especially the book of Psalms, one of his great spiritual and poetic models, dwells repeatedly on laments and complaints as radical as those in “The Collar.”
Alongside the Bible, perhaps there is also something of a different kind of social and religious ritualism here—the carnivalesque spirit. Carnival is a festival time of at least temporary release from the obligations and restraints of daily life, and one is not only freed but even encouraged to abuse, parody, or otherwise flout the figures of authority and “cold dispute[s]/ Of what is fit, and not” and grab for the physical pleasures at hand. Carnival functions not only as an individual and societal relief valve, letting off pressure that might otherwise build to intolerable levels, but also an important acknowledgment of the claims of the body and a person’s legitimate right to cry out against the strains of religion, law, and morality.
In works by William Shakespeare, according to C. L. Barber in Shakespeare’s Festive Comedy (1959), carnivalesque release leads to clarification, and this is precisely the pattern of “The Collar,” where Herbert allows the speaker full expression of his freedom as part of a rhythm of spiritual life that returns hi

| Posted on 2011-06-10 | by a guest

The meaning of the poem can be implied from the name of the poem- The collar. What does a collar represent? A collar represents subjectability(submission may be the word that fits here), and because of subjectability it also represents mutability. This definition is evidenced in the theme of the poem. Herbert was obviously contemplating abandoning his role as a priest, but Herbert finally meets reality at the end of the poem and retains the Christian theistic worldview by returning to God and crying \"My Lord\". God gives us the power of will, we can choose to do what we want to do. But will it be beneficial if we do so when we come to the end of the road? Herbert believed that it wasn\'t and suggested that the fracas between not only God and man to cease but also the fracas between him and God. By doing so Herbert keeps the faith and is separated \" set apart\" from the world. ( i.e. Romans 12:2)

| Posted on 2011-02-04 | by a guest

the collar\' is the most superb art of work of George Herbert and is truly regarded as a saint among metaphysical poets.

| Posted on 2010-09-30 | by a guest

the collar is a religious poem that is represented by contraption and restraint when the speaker talks about rope, cable, cages, and the collar.

| Posted on 2010-09-26 | by a guest

''The Collar'' is a symbolic, religious poem. In this poem, Herbert describes the agony and conflict experienced by him as a priest. The collar - the high collar of the priest- is symbolic of the restraints imposed upon a priest. The poet evidently seems to be in a conflict experiencing the two way pull between the secular life and the religious life of a priest.
written by:
Ziaulhaq Ateed

| Posted on 2010-05-03 | by a guest

This is a about Herbert's calling as a pastor and wrestling with the sacrifice and self-pity that come from such a poured out life. The collar is both a sign of his office and a symbol his entrapment. However there is a tenderness in the last line when he realizes to Whom he belongs.

| Posted on 2009-10-21 | by a guest

The Collar is basically about divine intoxication and the war between being intoxicated and the veil which separates the contemplative and the love of god. The poet does believe in a Supreme power which sustains all living thing in this universe and the other universes(metaphorical).
I an personally relate to it due to my own limited understanding of God.

| Posted on 2009-10-12 | by a guest

The Collar analysis :
Perhaps the best treatment of the subject of submission to the Divine Will is to be found in The Collar, which is certainly among the most celebrated of Herbert's lyrics. Once again, the form closely mirrors the argument. The poem opens with an account of an exasperated outburst of rebellion by the poet:
“I struck the board, and cry'd, No more.
I will abroad.”
What follows is a venting of spleen - an assertion of freedom, a complaint of grievances against the life of devotion out of which the poet intends to break, leading to a boastful challenge to the alleged morbid seriousness and paralysing timidity of the life the poet is renouncing. As the poet raves, growing “more fierce and wild/At every word”, he hears God calling him and, instantly, knows his place and admits God's authority.
The poem is in the iambic metre, but the lines are of varied length and there are no divisions into stanzas. The apparent randomness of form serves a dual purpose: it exaggerates the conversational tone - we can imagine the poet really speaking these lines. From “No more” in the first line to: “He that forbears/To suit and serve his need,/Deserves his load” the poem reads like a very histrionic soliloquy. The second effect of this randomness is to suggest the indiscipline of the rebellious spirit, which is both cause and consequence of the rebellion. The argument is heated and passionate but unconvincing. As it proceeds, the reader has the sense that the reasoning has not been premeditated and pondered, but is impulsive, spoken in heat. It seems like boastful posturing even before the poem's conclusion. With the poem's conclusion it is made to look ridiculous. In justifying his rebellion against the Divine yoke Herbert talks of religious prescriptions as a “cage” or “rope of sands” which is only made to seem “good cable” by the poet's own “pettie thoughts”. Yet, as he admits God as Lord, Herbert makes it clear that it is the attempt to rebel which is like “sand” and that the true “pettie thoughts” are those he has just asserted so bombastically.
The technical feature that most typifies this pretentious self-assertion is the redundant or “rhetorical” question, the answer to which is supposed to be self-evident and to support the greater argument in which it appears. Knowing where his poem will end, Herbert may be said to use this device ironically with a sense of its ridiculousness, especially when used with such predictable frequency (eight times in not many more than eight short lines). At the time he says these things, of course, the speaker is not being ironic but giving an aggrieved proof or demonstration of his self-inflicted loss:
“What? shall I ever sigh and pine?
...Shall I be still in suit?
...Is the year onely lost to me?”
The questions, and the many short lines, give the poem a fitful and uneven quality; there is no fluency of movement until the final quatrain of the poem. In these lines the poet reflects, calmly, on the result of the outburst he has just repeated. The ranting and raving is instantly, easily, dispelled by the gentlest of reminders, from God, of the poet's subservience.
God speaks in a “still small voice” (as in 1 Kings 19.12, Revised Version) and the submission is instant. The silly boasting spoken to bolster the courage of the self could not convincingly repeated in the presence of God. God has no need to answer the arguments: His mere presence exposes their hollowness. So, in these lines, the poem is fluent, eloquent, calm and subdued everything the preceding lines are not. Each pair of lines can be read almost as a single line; in the penultimate pair the syntax requires it (as modern editors' punctuation shows). The pairs seem to be of equal length to the ear though counting syllables will show an extra iambic foot in the final line.
“But as I rav'd and grew more fierce and wild
At every word
Me thoughts I heard one calling, Child!
And I reply'd, My Lord.”
That extra foot is, in effect, the conclusion to the poet's rebellion as to the poem: “My lord” truly shows the poet's acceptance of “The Collar”.
Written by : Alaa Cali4nia Boy

| Posted on 2009-07-28 | by a guest

This poem appears to reflect Herbert's consideration of how one should lead their life in order to become closer to God. Herbert reflects upon the bargain struck to move forward and thus (possibly)away from sin. The first part of the stanza notes the need to recognise the need to agree/bargain or haggle the price one should pay to stop grieving at mis-fortunes found in life and states the intention to move away/ onward from his previous way of life.
Herbert questions the point of bemoaning ones lot – and acknowledges that one’s way in life includes a freedom of choice - therefore life is what one makes it.
He ponders whether he can measure up to the challenge of this new way forward.
Throughout the poem he appears to ponder what life offers and what he has to show for his existence
Have I nothing else to give /produce?(other than to bleed at life’s hardship and not repent - let loose bad blood (evil)
Should one only take part in a semi-harvest then one will only see what is lost not gained – The juices of life are not only sweet but produced from the pulp of fruit (possibly could refer to the fruits of one’s labour?)Aluding to the thought that there are many facets of life which contribute to the making of it – Wine is made from the whole fruit (yet represents the body of Christ) what is left is discarded -such as pulp, seeds skin but it would not have been possible to make the wine without therefore the whole/entire person(mind and body) is required to make the best of what one is given. It could be that Herbert is drawing a comparison to the idea that in death the husk of the person (the body) will be discarded and that the produce/juices of the body is simply the soul.
Wasting the produce / harvest represents not making the most of what one has been given.
Has one nothing to show for labour/toil –existence?
Can there be nothing to show for the year? Can’t one crown / top what has been provided – celebrate the beauty and goodness – look for the good rather than the bad? (This could also be considering that others in the world also suffer)
Recognising that there is reward if one looks at what can be harvested – should God’s endowment not be celebrated?
Take back all the sighs/ moaning and regrets- recoup your losses to judge what is worthy of one’s self and refrain from that which restricts the boundaries of goodness – give up pointless / useless bonds which encourage negative thoughts. Rather one should seek strong bonds – look for the good for inspiration – Making this the way that one governs his/her way in life. While ones eyes are closed to this train of thought the way will not be lit / shown. Herbert suggests that he has moved away from the discourse of regret and immediate gratification of worldly goods.
Reign in your fears and receive your just deserts the way you clothe/conduct your life will reap its reward.
(Suggests that reflected in the bible- give up your worldly goods to find reward in heaven.)
A reflection that the reader / listener should take notice of these thoughts/warning; suggesting that the whilst raging against injustices of life Herbert came to hear the voice of God and responded by turning to religion.
Written by : Alaa Cali4nia Boy

| Posted on 2009-07-28 | by a guest

.: general points-the collar :.

theme=religious doubt
general tone= agressive
we see alot of doubt and questioning (rhetorical questions near beginning
'trapped' imagery (ropes of sand etc)

| Posted on 2008-02-03 | by a guest

.: The Collar analysis :.

portrays agitation, indignation, frustration 'All blasted?' 'All wasted' flurry of rhetorical questions. Cross reference Herbert's poem 'Forerunners' similarlt uses rhetorical questions to portray indignation 'Must they dispark those sparkling notions?'

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Edmund Spenser's "like a Ship" Sonnet 34 summary,analysis,themes and figures of speech

Edmund Spenser's "like a Ship"

Sonnet 34

Edmund Spenser's Amoretti chronicles his courtship with his wife Elizabeth Boyle. It was originally published in 1595 and loosely follows the Petrarchan sonnet model. Petrarch wrote his sonnets about women that he would never be able to obtain, while Spenser wrote about a single woman whom he did marry. Sonnet 34 appears to describe a break in Spenser's relationship with Elizabeth; it seems like they had a fight and Spenser is biding his time until she forgives him. Spenser uses the analogy of a ship losing its way during a storm to convey the separation between him and Elizabeth. It is also an adaptation of Petrarch's "Rima 189"

Like as a ship that through the Ocean wide,

By conduct of some star doth make her way,

Whenas a storm hath dimmed her trusty guide,

Out of her course doth wander far astray: (lines 1-4)

A ship traveling through a large ocean with no land in sight uses the stars to guide its way, but when stormy clouds block the star's light the ship will stray far from its course.

The "her" mentioned in this stanza is referring to the ship; in the English language most (if not all) modes of transportation are described with feminine pronouns. In this analogy, Spenser would be the ship that has gone off course, because his beloved's light is no longer shining on him. A storm is a clever way to describe an argument, because arguments can be described as being dark, angry, heated, wet (meaning crying), and other such adjectives. Astrology plays a big part in this poem and in navigation. Before, all you had to guide your way were compasses and the constellations. The brightest star is the North Star; however, he is not referring to that star in this poem. Instead he is referring to Ursa Major (a.k.a. Great Bear), which contains the Big Dipper.

So I whose star, that wont* with her bright ray

Me to direct, with clouds is overcast,

Do wander now in darkness and dismay,

Through hidden perils round about me placed. (5-8)

Now I wander around in the darkness, because his guiding light has been concealed by the dark clouds of the storm. Without her light he is left vulnerable to the hidden dangers surrounding him.

The storm has left him without his beloved to guide him. He misses her bright ray, which can be interpreted as he misses her beautiful soul, wit, personality, or any other such personality trait. He is consumed with sadness that he has lost his way, and is left defenseless.

Yet hope I well, that when this storm is past

My Helice the lodestar* of my life

Will shine again, and look on me at last,

With lovely light to clear my cloudy grief. (9-12)

*a star that leads or guides; usually refers to the North Star

I hope that when this storm passes my beloved's light will shine upon me again, and guide me back to port (or her), so that they can be together once again.

Helice, also known as Callisto, is a wood-nymph turned into Ursa Major. In Edith Hamiliton's Mythology, the tale is as follows: "she was the daughter of Lycaon, a king of Arcadia who had been changed into a wolf because of his wickedness. He had set human flesh on the table for Zeus when the god was his guest. His punishment was deserved, but his daughter suffered as terribly as he and she was innocent of all wrong. Zeus saw her hunting in the train of Artemis and fell in love with her. Hera, furiously angry, turned the maiden into a bear after son was born. When the boy was grown and out hunting, the goddess brought Callisto before him, intending to have him shoot his mother, in ignorance, of course. But Zeus snatched the bear away and placed her among the stars, where she is called the Great Bear. Later, her son Arcas was placed beside her and called the Lesser Bear. Hera, enraged at this honor to her rival, persuaded the God of the Sea to forbid the Bears to descent into the ocean like the other stars. They alone of the constellations never set below the horizon" (305).

An alternate version of this story can be found in Hans Biedermann's Dictionary of Symbolism: "the Arcadian princess Callisto ("the most beautiful"..., who while a servant of Artemis was made pregnant by Zeus, whereupon Artemis turned her into a bear. She gave birth to a perfectly formed human son, Arcas, who later felt threatened by his ursine mother. Lest one should kill the other, Zeus transported mother and son into the heavens: Zeus' jealous wife Hera, determined to prevent Calisto from ever being able to refresh herself by bathing in the sea, placed her (as Ursa Major) among the circumpolar stars, which never set; Arcas lives on the constellation Bootes" (33).

Till then I wander careful, comfortless,

In secret sorrow and sad pensiveness. (13-14)

These last two lines are known as the rhyming couplet, which functions as a way to sum up the entire poem in as few words as possible. Spenser is telling his beloved that until she forgives him, he will wander aimlessly all alone, thinking sorrowful thoughts.

The Theme :

 The main purpose behind writing this poem is to reach the land and also to reach the correct way with his beloved.

Figures of Speech:

1-      Metaphor:

A-    Star: is compared with the poet’s beloved.

B-    The ocean: is compared with life itself.

C-    Clouds, storms and perils: are compared to life and love problems.

D-    Landing: is love again.

2-      Simile: we have two words “like” and “as”.

3-      Personification: the ship and the star are personified to have human qualities.

Spenser, Edmund. "Amoretti: Sonnet 34." The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Sixteenth Century/ The Early seventeenth Century New York: Norton, 2006. 902-4.

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Sea-Fever by John Masefield's summary and analysis and themes

John Masefield's poem "Sea Fever" is a work of art that brings beauty to the English language through its use of rhythm, imagery and many complex figures of speech. The meter in "Sea Fever" follows the movement of the tall ship in rough water through its use of iambs and hard hitting spondees. Although written primarily in iambic meter, the meter in "Sea Fever" varies throughout the poem. The imagery in "Sea Fever" suggests an adventurous ocean that appeals to all five senses. Along with an adventurous ocean, "Sea Fever" also sets a mood of freedom through imagery of traveling gypsies. Perhaps, the most complex part of this poem is the use of personification and metaphor. These figures of speech go beyond the meter and imagery to compare life to a sea voyage and portray a strong longing for the sea. The two main themes of "Sea Fever" bring the reader closer to the sea and help the reader understand why the speaker must return to the sea. "Sea Fever" not only depicts a strong longing for the sea through its theme, but also through use of complex figures of speech, imagery, and meter.



"Sea Fever" is an excellent example of varied meter which follows the actions of a tall ship through high seas and strong wind. Lines one and two contain the common iambic meter found throughout the poem. "Sea Fever" may be categorized as a sea chantey due to its iambic meter and natural rhythm which gives it a song like quality. This song like quality is created through the use of iambic meter and alliteration. For example, lines three and ten contain the repeated consonant sound of the letter "w".



In line three, the meter becomes spondaic through the use of strongly stressed syllables. These spondees suggest the repeated slapping of waves against the bow of the ship. As a result, John Masefield creates an image of powerful ocean swells. In addition to the meter suggesting the repeated slap of the waves, "the wheel's kick" is a reference to the ship's steering wheel spinning out of control. To further support the theory of the waves slapping against the bow, "The wheels kick" suggests that the tall ship is traversing very storm seas. Through the combining of iambic and spondaic meter, "Sea Fever" not only gains a magnificent rhythm, but gives clues into the location and movement of the tall ship.



Perhaps, the most striking characteristic of "Sea Fever" is the remarkable imagery seen on each line throughout the poem. Images of a "gray mist" and a "gray dawn breaking" bring the poem to life by appealing to the senses. The powerful images bring the reader to the ocean and help the reader understand the strong longing the speaker has for the sea. Through the use of descriptive adjectives, the effectiveness of Masefield's imagery is increased. Specifically, words such as "whetted" and "flung" help create a realistic picture of the sea. Images of a "wild call" and a "clear call that may not be denied" describe a longing that is shared between the speaker and the ocean. Finally, images of a "lonely sea" and a "vagrant gypsy life" bring a mood of freedom and independence to the poem. Through the use of vivid descriptions and strong images of the sea, Masefield helps the reader to understand why the speaker must return to the sea.



Through the use of complex figures of speech, "Sea Fever" is transformed from an ordinary poem to a masterpiece. Masefield adds figures of speech such as, personification, to bring detailed descriptions of the ship and sea to the reader. In line four, the sea is personified when the water's surface is referred to as the "sea's face". In addition to personification, Masefield uses several similes and metaphors that increase the effectiveness of the already strong imagery. The simile "the winds like a whetted knife", appeals to the senses and helps the reader feel the cold wind blowing. The similes and metaphors seen in "Sea Fever" are easily recognized, but their meanings and implications may be viewed as anything but shallow or irrelevant to the poetic style of Masefield. One example of a metaphor is in line nine when the speaker compares "the vagrant gypsy life" to the ocean. "Sea Fever" is dominated by implied metaphors comparing the speakers life to the sea. For example, the word "trick" in line ten implies that the speaker's life has been like a sea voyage. The complex metaphors increase the emotional tone of "Sea Fever" and help the reader relate to the speaker's passion for the sea. Through the use of figures of speech such as personification, simile and metaphor, the poem is enhanced by further development of the theme and the imagery.



From the intensity of the speakers feelings, two themes are created that complement each other. First, a theme of longing for freedom and an adventurous ocean is developed. Although not the only theme, it is very recognizable and easily found after the initial reading of the poem. For example, this yearning for the sea can easily be seen in the refrain "I must go down to the seas again". The title "Sea Fever", shows the speakers hunger for an adventurous and free life. This hunger for life is also seen through references to the freedom of a sea gull and a whale in line ten. Equally important, Masefield uses strong metaphors to create a theme of life resembling a sea voyage. In line twelve, the speakers asks for a "quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over". The speaker is implying that life is a long sea journey and is requesting a peaceful afterlife. These two themes work together to convey the speakers passionate feelings for the sea and help the reader to further understand the sea's importance to the speaker.



"Sea Fever" uses meter, imagery, and figures of speech so effectively that the reader is brought to the sea. The iambic and spondaic meter along with alliteration give "Sea Fever" a natural rhythm that coincides with the movement of the sea. The refrain "I must go down to the seas again" is one of the many poetic devices used to show the strong longing the speaker has for the sea. Equally important, the dynamic imagery is seen practically on each line throughout the poem. The images in "Sea Fever" are strengthened through the use of figurative language. Masefield uses personification and similes to add vivid details of the wind, ship and sea. Perhaps, the most puzzling element of "Sea Fever" is the implied metaphors. Furthermore, the simple themes in "Sea Fever", consist of the longing the speaker has for the sea and the comparison of life to a sea voyage. In conclusion, "Sea Fever" employs meter, imagery, and figurative language to help strengthen the themes and help the reader gain an understanding of the speaker's desire to return to the sea.

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The Rime of the Ancient Mariner By S.T. Coleridge summary and analysis and themes

Type of Work

.......The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a narrative poem in which a seaman tells another man a strange and terrifying tale.
Date of Publication
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.......The poem was published in 1798 in Lyrical Ballads, then revised and published in 1817 in the version that is popular today. Coleridge received help from the poet William Wordsworth. The editors of Major British Writers, a literature anthology, explain Wordsworth's contribution:

Originally, Coleridge and Wordsworth intended to write this poem in collaboration. Wordsworth’s manner proved unsuited for the purpose, however, and after contributing half a dozen lines [Part II, Lines 13-16 and Lines 226-227] and suggesting the shooting of the albatross and “the reanimation of the dead bodies to work the ship,” Wordsworth withdrew, and Coleridge proceeded alone.—G.B. Harrison, general ed. Major British Writers. Shorter edition. New York: Harcourt, 1967, Page 592.

Sources
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.......When Coleridge wrote The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, accounts of the daring sea voyages of the British explorer Captain James Cook (1728-1779) had caught the public's fancy. Cook had made three exploratory voyages in the Pacific between 1768 and 1779, traveling as far north as the Bering Strait (between Alaska and Russia) and as far south as the ice fields of Antarctica. One of his crewmen, astronomer William Wales, later taught mathematics to Coleridge at Christ's Hospital School in London after Coleridge enrolled upon the death of his father in 1781. Australian Bernard Smith maintains that Coleridge likely used a journal kept by Wales as a source of information for The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, according to Bill Whelen, author of Captain Cook's Navigator and Coleridge's Poem: William Wales, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' (Dunedin, New Zealand: University of Otago Press, 2009).
.......Other sources used by Coleridge include superstitions and folk tales. Setting
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.......The action takes place in the following locales several hundred years ago: (1) a street or byway in a locale with a hall in which a wedding reception is being held; (2) a sailing ship with 201 crew members, including the ancient mariner; (3) the Atlantic Ocean; (4) the South Pole; (4) the Pacific Ocean; (5) the mariner’s native country (undisclosed). The atmosphere is ghostly, preternatural, mysterious.
Characters
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Ancient Mariner: Old sailor who roams from country to country to tell a strange tale.
Wedding Guest: Man on the way to a wedding reception with two other men. The mariner singles out the wedding guest to hear his tale.
Two Hundred Crewmen: Ill-fated members of the ship carrying the mariner.
Pilot: Boatman who rescues the mariner. (A pilot is an official who guides ships into and out of a harbor.)
Pilot’s Boy: Pilot’s assistant.
Hermit: Holy man who absolves the mariner and hears his story.
Albatross: Large, web-footed sea bird with a hooked bill.  Most species of albatrosses wander the southern seas, from tropical regions down to Antarctica, drinking sea water and feeding on squid, cuttlefish, and other small sea creatures. Sometimes, they follow ships to feed on their garbage. Albatrosses have an astonishing ability to glide in the wind, sometimes for hours, but have difficulty staying aloft without a wind. In the latter case, they sit on the water to rest or sleep. When it is time to breed, they go ashore. An old superstition says killing an albatross brings bad luck, although sailors have been known to kill and eat them. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner has helped make this superstition common knowledge throughout the world among landlubbers as well as sailors. In modern parlance, a person or an event that brings bad luck is often referred to as an albatross.
Narration: Poem as a Frame Tale
.......A narrator begins the poem by telling the reader about an ancient mariner who stops a man on the street to recite a story. After getting the man’s attention, the mariner then tells his tale. Thus, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is like a framed painting. The frame represents one narrator telling about the mariner; the painting represents the mariner narrating his story. The mariner sometimes quotes another person, such as the Pilot. However, the Pilot is not a narrator, since he is merely speaking dialogue and not telling a story.
Structure, Rhyme
.......Coleridge divides the poem into seven parts. Most of the stanzas in the poem have four lines; several have five or six lines. In the four-line stanzas, the second and fourth lines usually rhyme. In the five- and six-line stanzas, the second or third line usually rhymes with the final line. 
Meter
The meter alternates between iambic tetrameter (with four feet per line) and iambic trimeter (with three feet per line). Following is an example (the first four lines of Part II) of a stanza with this pattern:

.......1.................2...............3...............4
"The SUN..|..now ROSE..|..up ON..|..the RIGHT:............(tetrameter)
.....1..............2...............3
Out OF..|..the SEA..|..came HE,.....................................(trimeter)
......1..............2...............3...............4
Still HID..|..in MIST,..|..and ON..|..the LEFT...................(tetrameter)
.........1................2.............3
Went DOWN..|..in TO..|..the SEA...................................(trimeter)

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Summary of the Poem
By Michael J. Cummings...© 2005
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The Rime of the Ancient Mariner begins with a one-paragraph summary called an "Argument." The poem then begins.
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.......Three men are on their way to a wedding reception when an old sailor stops one of them to tell him a story. So eager is the old fellow to tell his tale that he raises on hand to prevent the wedding guest from moving on. The mariner then begins the story—“There was a ship” (line 10)—but is unable to continue because the wedding guest angrily orders the mariner to cease blocking his way. 
.......But after the old man lowers his hand, the guest cannot continue on, for he is hypnotized by the mariner’s “glittering eye” (line 3). Like a three-year-old child eager for a wonderful story, the guest sits on a rock and listens. 
.......The mariner says the ship sailed southward on the Atlantic Ocean with a fair wind. The sun rose from the sea, crossed the sky, and sank in the west in its daily ritual as all went well while the ship sailed onward day after day. Even though the wedding guest hears music from the nearby wedding celebration, he keeps his attention riveted on the old mariner and his tale.
.......Alas, a great storm came, the mariner says, driving the ship farther south as it passed through mist and snow to a land of ice, Antarctica. Everywhere the crewmen looked they saw ice. Then, out of the fog, a great sea bird appeared—an albatross. And, wonder of wonders, the ice around the ship cracked, and the ship picked up a wind and sailed north. The albatross, therefore, was a good omen. It came to the ship every day, answering the mariner's “hollo!” (line 74).It played. It ate of the crewmen’s food. During the evening religious services, called vespers, it perched on a mast or a rope.
.......Then one day, the mariner shot the bird with his crossbow. The rest of the crew condemned his cruel act, saying he had “killed the bird / That made the breeze to blow.” However, when the fog disappeared and the sun shone gloriously, they approved the act, saying he “had kill'd the bird / That brought the fog and mist” (99-100).And so, the crew became partners in his crime.
.......But not long afterward, the sails fell as the air grew still. Day after day, under a boiling sun, the ship hardly moved. It was “As idle as a painted ship / Upon a painted ocean” (lines 117-118). And the men thirsted—in the middle of an ocean with water everywhere. They saw slimy creatures crawling on the sea, and at night they beheld a fire dancing on the ropes and chains that control the masts—an ill omen. (Sailors at sea often saw this phenomenon, known as St. Elmo’s fire. It is electricity discharged from pointed objects, such as masts, during storms. The phenomenon can also be seen on land on trees or towers that rise to a point. Today, it can also be seen in the air on wings and propellers of aircraft.) Blaming the mariner for their woes, the crewmen hung the dead albatross around his neck.
.......As each man weakened with thirst and fatigue, the mariner beheld a sign in the sky—a mere speck that grew into a mist and took shape upon its approach. It appeared to be a ship. The men were heartened. But what kind of ship moves without a wind? When the sun was setting, the vessel drew near and revealed itself as a ghostly “skeleton of a ship” (line 177) with only two crew members. One was a specter woman—“Life-in-Death” (line 193)—with red lips, yellow hair, and white skin. The other was her mate, Death. They rolled dice for the crewmen, and Death won everyone except the ancient mariner. He was the prize of Life-in-Death.
.......All the crew—200 men—then dropped dead one by one, all except the mariner. Their souls flew by him, to heaven or hell, like arrows shot from a crossbow. The wedding guest interrupts the narrative at this point to express his fear of the mariner. After all, the old man could also be a departed soul, a ghost. But the mariner assures him that he is flesh and blood, then continues his tale.
.......Now he was alone on the ocean with only slimy sea creatures to keep him company. He tried to pray but failed. The lifeless crewmen, meanwhile, looked up at him with a never-changing gaze, fixed by death. For seven days and nights, he endured their gaze. During this time, at night in the moonlight, he watched the water snakes—“blue, glossy green, and velvet black” (line 280)—swim and coil. Their sleek beauty touched him, and he found himself blessing them. He also found that he was able to pray; in short, he was beginning to regret shooting the albatross. Suddenly, the albatross fell from his neck and sank into the sea. And then the mariner slipped into a gentle sleep, for which he thanked Mary, the holy Mother who is Queen of heaven. When he awakened, rain was falling and wind was roaring. Although the wind did not reach the ship, the ship began to move—and the dead crewmen rose to man the ship—steering, tugging the ropes. The body of his brother’s son helped him pull on a rope, though he spoke no words.
.......The wedding guest again interrupts to express his fear. But the mariner again calms him and resumes the story, as follows. At dawn, the ghostly crewmen let loose the ropes and made “sweet sounds” (line 353) mingled with the songs of birds. It was an angelic symphony. The ship sailed on. A spirit, it seemed, was moving the ship. Then the ship began to rock and bob—and suddenly lurched forward, causing the mariner to fall in a faint. When he came to, he heard two spirit voices. One asked whether this was the man who shot the albatross. The other, confirming that it was, said the mariner had done penance for his wrongdoing but still had more penance to do.
.......The ship began to sail northward at such a great speed that the mariner went into a trance. When the mariner woke up, the ship was sailing gently onward. All the dead crewmen were standing together, staring at the mariner. A wind—like a gale across a meadow in the spring—began to blow, tousling the mariner’s hair and cooling his cheek. The ship picked up speed and soon the mariner saw a lighthouse, a hill, and a church. It was his native land at long last.
.......The water in the harbor bay was calm, reflecting the light of the moon. On the ship, the corpses were no longer standing but lying “lifeless and flat” (line 489). Over each body was a seraph (an angel), giving off a heavenly light that could be seen on the shore. Soon a boat came rowing forth carrying a Pilot, the Pilot’s boy, and a Hermit singing hymns. The Hermit, who lived in woods near the sea and knelt on moss to pray, loved to talk with sailors from afar. When the boat drew close, the mariner heard them say that the ship looked strange. “It hath a fiendish look” (line 539), the Pilot said. Suddenly, the ship sank, rumbling down and leaving the mariner floating helplessly. But in a moment he was in the Pilot’s boat, which whirled round and round. When seeing the mariner’s face, the Pilot fell down in a fit and the Hermit prayed. The mariner took up oars and began rowing. At that, the boy laughed, observing that “the Devil knows how to row” (line 570).
.......After the boat reached land, the mariner begged the Hermit to hear his confession and absolve him of his sins. “What manner of man art thou?” (line 578) the Hermit said. And the mariner told him his tale. Since that the time, the mariner says, he has felt a compulsion to travel from land to land. It is his penance. Whenever he remembers his experience at sea—the terror of it all—he must stop someone to tell him his story in order to relieve his agony. He knows at a mere glance which man he must single out to listen to the tale.
.......The wedding celebration continues while the mariner hears a vesper bell calling him to prayer. It is far sweeter to him to pray to God, he says, than it would be to enjoy the pleasure of a wedding celebration. The mariner notes that a man prays best “who loveth best / All things both great and small” (lines 615-616)—that is, who loves all of the things that God created.
.......The mariner then walks on. So does the wedding guest, as if stunned. But he is a “sadder and wiser man.”
. Themes Sin and Redemption
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.......Man is a sinful creature, but redemption awaits him if he repents his wrongdoing and performs penance. This theme manifests itself as follows: After the ancient mariner commits a sin by killing the albatross, guilt hounds him in the form of strange natural and supernatural phenomena. During one terrifying experience, he has a change of heart and repents his wrongdoing. After confessing to the Hermit, he carries out a penance, which is to travel the world to tell his tale to strangers.
Respect for Nature
.......Human beings should respect all of God’s creation and all of His creatures, including the albatross and even sea snakes. In doing so, people indicate their respect for the Creator Himself. In his parting words to the wedding guest, the narrator says,

Farewell, farewell! but this I tell 
To thee, thou Wedding-Guest! 
He prayeth well, who loveth well 
Both man and bird and beast. (lines 611-614)

Terror .......The mariner undergoes terrifying experiences as he confronts supernatural wonders, in particular the female figure known as Life-in-Death. When the mariner sees her rolling dice with death, he says, 

We listen'd and look'd sideways up! 
Fear at my heart, as at a cup, 
My life-blood seem'd to sip! (lines 204-206) 

The mariner even frightens the wedding guest when he tells him that all the crewmen fell dead one by one. The wedding guest says,

"I fear thee, ancient Mariner!
I fear thy skinny hand!
And thou art long, and lank, and brown,
As is the ribbed sea-sand. (lines 225-228)

Coleridge plainly makes the point that beyond the boundaries of the known world are many strange and fearful sights that explorers will encounter. .
Main Symbols
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The Ancient Mariner as Adam: Adam committed the original sin that brought woe upon mankind. The original sin in this context is the killing of the albatross. The crewmen are inheritors of the mariner’s original sin, just as Christians are inheritors of Adam’s original sin. As the mariner says, "And I had done an hellish thing, And it would work 'em woe." 
The Ancient Mariner as Christian Sinner: When the ancient mariner kills the albatross (described in the poem as a holy thing “hailed in God’s name"), he is like the Christian who commits sins for which Christ died on the cross.
Ghost Ship as Wages of Sin: The ghostly skeleton ship carries Death and Life-in-Death. Death, of course, is a consequence of original sin. Life-in-Death is the loneliness, the separation from God, that a sinner encounters before dying.
Pilot: The boat Pilot rescues the mariner after the ship sinks, representing the saving grace of a merciful God. 
Hermit: The Hermit represents redemption. He hears the mariner's confession and pronounces a penance, requiring the mariner to tell his tale the world over to warn others of the consequences of sin.
Wedding Celebration: Everyday life that continues merrily without its participants' full knowledge and respect of the higher rules of the universe. As part of his penance, the mariner educates one of the wedding guests about the importance of abiding by the laws of God. The scene of a wedding celebration is, of course, an excellent place for the mariner to tell his story. After all, a marriage is a beginning, and new life will come from it. Will the newlyweds and their children abide by God's laws? Or will they thoughtlessly shoot albatrosses? Perhaps the wedding guest who walks on at the end of the poem will pass on his new insights to the bride, the groom, and others at the wedding feast. 
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. Climax
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.......The climax of the poem occurs when the mariner has a change of heart and the albatross falls from his neck.  Internal Rhyme
Besides end rhyme, Coleridge also frequently uses internal rhyme. Following are examples.

The guests are met, the feast is set (line 7) The ship drove fast, loud roared the blast  (line 49)
And through the drifts the snowy clifts (line 54)
The ice did split with a thunder-fit (line 69)
In mist or cloud, on mast or shroud (line 75)
The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew (line 103)

Inversion .......For poetic effect, Coleridge inverts the word order from time to time, as the following lines demonstrate.
Instead of the cross, the Albatross 
About my neck was hung. (lines 141-142)
The normal word order would be "was hung about my neck."
Through utter drought all dumb we stood!  (line 159)
The normal word order would be "we stood all dumb."
The naked hulk alongside came (line 195)
The normal word order would be "came alongside."
Enjambment
.......Coleridge occasionally uses enjambment, the practice of carrying the sense of one line of verse over to the next line without a pause. Here are examples:

And now the storm-blast came, and he
Was tyrannous and strong (lines 41-42)  We could not speak, no more than if
We had been choked with soot. (lines 137-138)
Instead of the cross, the Albatross
About my neck was hung. (lines 141-142)
'There passed a weary time. Each throat 
Was parch'd, and glazed each eye. (lines 143-144)

Figures of Speech
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The poem is rich in figures of speech. Here are examples: Alliteration

By thy long grey beard and glittering eye (line 3) He holds him with his skinny hand (line 9)
The Wedding-Guest here beat his breast,
For he heard the loud bassoon. (lines 31-32)
The merry minstrelsy (line 36)
The furrow followed free (line 104) 

Anaphora

The ice was here, the ice was there,
The ice was all around. (line 59-60) With throats unslaked, with black lips baked (line 157) 
Without a breeze, without a tide (line 169) 
Her lips were red, her looks were free,
Her locks were yellow as gold:
Her skin was as white as leprosy (lines 190-192)
They groan'd, they stirr'd, they all uprose, 

Irony

Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink ;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink. (lines 119-122)
Water is everywhere, but there is none to drink.

Metaphor

Each turned his face with a ghastly pang,
And cursed me with his eye. (lines 215-216)
Comparison of the appearance of the eye to a curse They coil'd and swam; and every track
Was a flash of golden fire. (lines 281-282)
Comparison of the wake left by the sea snakes to fire

Onomatopoeia

It crack'd and growl'd, and roar'd and howl'd (line 61)

Personification

The Sun came up upon the left,
Out of the sea came he !
And he shone bright, and on the right
Went down into the sea. (lines 25-28)
Comparison of the sun to a person

Simile

    [E]very soul, it passed me by,
Like the whizz of my crossbow! (lines 223-224)
Comparison of the passing of a soul to the sound of a shot arrow     [T]he sky and the sea, and the sea and the sky
Lay like a load on my weary eye (lines 251-252)
Comparison of the sky and sea to a weight on the eye
Her beams bemocked the sultry main,
Like April hoar-frost spread (lines 268-269)
Comparison of reflected sunbeams to frost
The bride hath paced into the hall,.................
Red as a rose is she (lines 33-34)
Comparison of the bride to a rose
The water, like a witch's oils,
Burnt green, and blue and white. (lines 129-130)
Comparison of water to witch's oils
Day after day, day after day,
We stuck, nor breath nor motion;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean. (lines 115-118)
Comparison of the motionless ship and ocean to paintings

Synecdoche

The western wave was all a-flame (line 171)
Wave refers to the ocean.

..Vocabulary Words From the Poem
betwixt (line 176): Between.
charnel-dungeon (line 436): A charnel is a place that contains corpses; a dungeon is a dark prison beneath a medieval castle. Hence, a charnel-dungeon is an underground place for the dead.
chuse (line 18): Choose.
clifts (line 55): Cliffs.
clomb (line 210): Climbed.
corse (line 349, 489, 492): Corpse; dead body.
death-fires (line 128): St. Elmo’s fire, which is electricity discharged from pointed objects, such as masts, during storms. The phenomenon can also be seen on land on trees or towers that rise to a point. Today, it can also be seen in the air on wings and propellers of aircraft.
eftsoons (line 12): Immediately; now; at once.
fathom (line 133): Depth measurement equaling 6 feet (1.8288 meters).
gossameres (line 184): Cobwebs.
gramercy (line 164): Expression of thanks or surprise
helmsman (line 336): Crewman who steers a ship.
Jargoning (line 363): Chattering; singing.
ken (line 57): Know.
kirk (line 467): Church.
line (Coleridge's comments at line 25): Equator, the imaginary circle around the earth that divides the Northern and Southern Hemispheres 
main (line 268): Sea. 
mast (line 30):Tall structure rising from a ship to support sails, ropes, booms, etc.
minstrelsy (line 36): Group of musicians.
nether (line 212): Bottom.
Pilot (line 502): Boatman who guides ships into and out of harbors.
rood (line 490): Old English word for cross, referring to the cross on which Christ was crucified; crucifix at the entrance of a chancel, the space around an altar that is reserved for clergymen or choir members.
seraph (line 491): Member of the highest-ranking order of angels, the Seraphim.
shrieve (line 513): Shrive, which means to hear the confession of a sinner.
shroud (line 75): Ropes or wires connected to a mast on both sides to keep in from swaying sideways
skiff (line 524): Small boat propelled with oars.
swound (line 62): Swoon; fainting spell.
tack'd (tacked, line 156): Changed course.
thorough (line 64): Through.
twain (line 196): Two.
tod (line 536): Bush of ivy or some other plant
wherefore (line 4): why.
wist (line 152): Past tense of wit, meaning know; hence, wist means knew.

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