SEA FEVER BY JOHN MASEFIELD

Maddi OliphantPoetry Project Period 7

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

• British Poet.• Born in Herefordshire, England.• Was trained as a merchant seaman.• In 1895 he deserted his ship in New

York City, but then later returned to London to write about his experience at sea.

• Was appointed British Poet Laureate in 1930.

John Masefield (1878-1967)

ORGANIZATION1. “Sea Fever” is a lyric poem. The vowels at the end of each line

are elongated to create the effect of ocean swells. It has irregular patterns to create the effect of the rise and fall of waves.

2. The 3 stanzas separate the poem into three different main ideas. The author is giving the readers three different reasons as to why he feels like he “must” return to the seas.

3. Lyric poem, so the rhyme scheme gives the poem rhythm.

4. Sea fever has 3 stanzas and 12 lines.

Sea Fever Sea Fever By John Masefield 1878–1967 John Masefield I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by; And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking, And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking,   I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied; And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying, And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.   I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life, To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife; And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover, And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.

IMAGERY

This is saying, all the speaker needs to be happy would be a simple ship and the sky.

“And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by”

“all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying”

He wants to be at the sea again and see all the things that he is used to and that make him feel at home.

“And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.” 

The speaker is home sick. He is reminding himself of what life used to be like and how he wants to go back.

“And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over”

The speaker wants to have good dreams of his journey.

POETIC/LITERARY TERMS (STANZA ONE)

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

And; all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by; A

And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking, B And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking B

Author uses personification to express the blowing of the wind and how it sounds

Uses alliteration to express the seas feelings

The end rhyme of the poem creates rhythm.

POETIC/LITERARY TERMS (STANZA TWO) I must down5 to the seas again, for the call of the running tide A

Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied; A

And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying, B

And the flung spray and the blown spume,6 and the sea-gulls crying. B

The author uses end rhyme to create rhythm.

Sensory details

Personification: the tide is “calling” him.

POETIC/LITERARY TERMS (STANZA THREE) I must down to the seas again to the vagrant gypsy life.  A

To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife A

And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover, B 

And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's8 over. B

The author uses alliteration to emphasize.

End rhyme creates rhythm.

Descriptive: uses the terms to describe the noun

LITERAL MEANING

The literal meaning of “Sea Fever” would be that the speaker “must” go down to the seas again. He feels like he has to go back to the ocean to remember what it was like.

FIGURATIVE MEANING

The author is comparing the sea to life. The speaker looks forward to the end of his journey, referring to the end of his life. The repetition of the phrase “ I must go down to the seas again” emphasizes the pull that the sea (and death) exerts on him. “For the call of the running tide is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied” this is saying that the call of the sea is intense for the speaker and he is ready for the call to end, even though he loves the sea, he is ready to say goodbye. We know this is true when the speaker says “And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.” referring to his death.

AUTHORS PURPOSE

I think the author purpose is to explain to people the journey of life. It talks about how you want all these things in life, but eventually, at the end you will want it to end. Even though you love it.

THEME

The theme is seafaring. Seafaring means that you like traveling the sea. The author is in love with the sea and wants everyone else to be too. The repetition of “I must go down to the seas again” emphasizes the theme.

RESOURCES

http://www.google.com/

http://www.poetryoutloud.org/

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/john-masefield

http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides5/SeaFever.html#Alliteration

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/seafaring