APPRECIATION OF THE POEM: INCHCAPE ROCK
About the poem/ poet and the title
The poem “Inchcape Rock” by Robert Southey is about a real stretch of dangerous rocks
near Scottish coast. The title gives the clue that the rock is a part of an interesting story.
The theme.
The theme is about benevolent Abbott and a wicked pirate Sir Ralph Rover. Abbot concerns
about the sailors , whereas the pirate cuts the bell to put him in trouble.
Poetic style.
The poem is a ballad. The story is told in stanzas of four lines with aabb rhyme.
The language/ poetic devices used in this poem.
The poem is in a simple language. The richness is the usage of old English words like ‘blest’
‘Quoth’ ‘canst’. Many poetic devices like ‘Inversion’, ‘Alliteration’, ‘Onomatopoeia’ etc. were
used. Repetition emphasizes the gladness of the heart.
Special features.
The mood changes from mischief to wickedness which finally meet a violent end.
Message, Values, Morals in the poem.
The poem clearly conveys the truth that, ‘those who do wrong things will meet with due
punishments.
Your opinion about the poem.
I like the poem as it conveys a good message in a story form. The moral is useful even for
today’s life.
POETICS DEVICES:
REPETITION:
1. ‘No stir in the air, no stir in the sea’ > the word ‘no stir’ is repeated.
2. ‘So little they rose, so little they fell, > ‘so little’ is repeated
3. ‘It made him whistle, it made him sing’ > ‘it made him ‘ is repeated.
PERSONIFICATION:
1. ‘The ship was still as she could be’.
2. ‘Her sail from heaven received no motion’
The ship has been personified with the use of the feminine pronoun ‘she’.
3. ‘On a buoy in the storm it floated and swung’
The Inchcape bell has been given the animate quality of floating and swinging.
4. ‘All things were joyful on that day’.
The ‘things’ refer to living as well as non living things, the animate quality of
being joyful has been given to it.
SIMILE:
1. ‘The ship was still as she could be’. > The word “as’ is used to compare the
stillness of the ship.
INVERSION:
1. ‘Her sails from heaven received no motion’. > The correct order is ‘Her sails
received no motion from heaven’.
2. ‘On a buoy in the storm it floated and swung’. > The correct order is ‘It floated
and swung on a buoy in the storm’.
3. ‘And over the waves its warning rung’. > The correct order is ‘ And its warning
rung over the waves’.
4. ‘A darker spec on the ocean green: > The correct order is ‘A darker speck on the
green ocean’.
5. ‘Quoth he, “My men, put out the boat, > The correct order is ‘He quoth, “My
men, put out the boat’.
6. ‘And to the Inchcape Rock they go’. > The correct order is ‘And they go to the
Inchcape Rock’.
7. ‘Down sank the bell with a gurgling sound’. > The correct order is ‘The bell sank
down with a gurgling sound’.
8. ‘Quoth Sir Ralph’. > The correct order is ‘Sir Ralph quoth’.
9. ‘So thick a haze o’erspreads the sky’.> The correct order is ‘A haze so thick
o’erspresds the sky’.
10. ‘At evening it hath died away’. > The correct order is ‘It hath died away at
evening’.
11. ‘On the deck the Rover takes his stand’. > The correct order is ‘The Rover takes
his stand on the deck’
12. ‘So dark it is they see no land’. > The correct order is ‘It is so dark (that) they see
no land.
13. ‘Quoth Sir Ralph, “It will be lighter soon”. > The correct order is ‘Sir Ralph quoth,
“It will soon be lighter”.
14. “Canst hear,” said one, “the breakers roar?” > The correct order is ‘ One said .
“Canst hear the breakers roar?”.
15. ‘Now where we are I cannot tell’. >The correct order is ‘Now I cannot tell where
we are’.
16. ‘One dreadful sound could the Rover hear’. > The correct order is ‘The Rover
could hear one dreadful sound’.
ANTITHESIS:
1. ‘So little they rose, so little they fell’. Opposite words ‘rose’ and ‘fell’ have been
used in the line to show the movement of the waves.
TRANSFERRED EPITHET:
1. ‘The sun in the heaven was shining gay’. The epithet ‘gay’ has been transferred
from ‘people’ to the ‘sun’. The sun is not happy; it is the people who are happy
because of the sunlit day.
ONOMATOPOEIA:
1. ‘It made him whistle, it made him sing’. > The word ‘whistle’ denotes the sound
made while whistling.
2. Down sank the bell with a gurgling sound. >the word ‘gurgling’ denotes the
sound made by the bell.
3. ‘Canst hear’, said one , ‘the breakers roar?’. > The word ‘roar’ denotes the sound
made by the crashing waves.
4. ‘The Devil below was ringing his knell’. > The word ‘ringing’ denotes the sound
made by the bell.
METAPHOR:
1. ‘For there is the dawn of the rising moon’. >the rising of the moon has been
indirectly compared to ‘dawn’ , which is attributed to sunrise
2. ‘A sound as if with the Inchcape Bell, The Devil below was ringing his knell’. >
The Inchcape Bell has been indirectly compared to the ‘death knell’ that the
Rover can hear the Devil ringing.
APOSTROPHE: & EXCLAMATION:
1. ‘Oh Christ!’ > (Apostrophe) A direct address has been made to a person who is
not present.
(Exclamation) The strong emotion of surprise is expressed in the
line.