MindMap Gallery Sea Fever by John Masefield

Sea Fever by John Masefield

Annotations on the poem Sea Fever by John Masefield

Edited at 2021-06-05 07:30:45

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Sea Fever by John Masefield

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Sea Fever by John Masefield

Annotations

1st Stanza

"I must go down to the sea again

Repeated at the beginning of each stanza

Emphasises how much the speaker want to go to sea

Personification; we have an image that the sea wants him as well

The poet creates a list of things he wants, by using 'and' and there by creating an anaphora

"grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking

Enchanting beauty of the sea

Cerates imagery

Repetition of grey could suggest a mood

Lonliness

A Dull Mood

2nd Stanza

The tide is described as running

Personification

The tide is always moving, calling the speaker which suggests that the sea wants the speaker to visit it as well

'wild call and a clear call'

The sea is unpredictable hence wild

The use of 'clear' suggests that the speaker understands this strong call

Reference to senses in last verse

What can you feel?

In this case it the wind and the sea

3rd Stanza

'The vagrant gypsy life'

reference to living as someone who roams around

someone who is a traveller

'wind's like a whetted knife'

suggests that the wind is 'cutting'

The knife is sharpened - 'whetted'

'merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover'

Suggests a comradery among the sailors

A form of entertainment between the sailors

They would sing sea shanty songs

'quiet sleep and sweet dream when the long trick's over'

Sailor asks for a rest once his 'shift' is over

His shift is steering the ship

Vocabulary

Sail - On a ship usually made out of cloth

Mist - Something caused by small droplets of water suspended in air

Tide - Rise and Fall of sea levels

Denied - Not allowed / Refused

Flung - Thrown / Hurled

Blown Spume - Froth / Spray

Vagrant - Roams around / Tramp

Gypsy - Traveller

Context

Masefield spent years (became a merchant) at sea after dropping out of boarding school at the age of 15

His love of the sea and awe of nature that surrounded him permeate his poetry

Good Quotes

'I must go down to the seas again,, to the lonely sea and the sky'

Repeated in every stanza

Shows poet's longing to be at sea

'gull's way and the whales way where the winds' like a whetted knife'

Alliteration of the 'w'

Simile 'like a whetted knife'