"Sea Fever
Hollis Lee Page #1
8/14/13
Headley
2nd block Poetry Response: “Sea Fever” by John Masefield
The poem “Sea Fever” is a very meaningful poem. The poem is very short, but has many meanings and different styles of poetry in it. When you first start the poem it seems as its going to be gloomy and very bland but picks up its meaning in the 2nd stanza. This poetry response will break down the poem and explain everything about it including the Title, Connotation, Attitude, Shifts, and the theme. Starting with the analysis of the title before even reading the poem, it seems that whoever is speaking has a love for the sea and cannot let it go. The speaker has a connection with sea; maybe she lost a loved one, family, friend or just loves the sea. The title has a very strong meaning in my opinion, because to say you have “Sea-Fever” means that the speaker cannot live without the sea or is very sick when away for the sea. Now let’s start to paraphrase the poem. In the first stanza the speaker must go down to the sea, which refers that she has sea fever. She wishes that a tall ship and star steer her by, so the speaker wishes that the ship will make it home by following the stars. The writer uses some imagery by saying “the wheel’s kick and the winds song” that gives us the image that the boat is in very strong wing and that the waves are slapping the front bow and the wind is shaking the sails. In the last line of the first stanza the speaker appeals to the senses by saying “the grey mist and grey dawn breaking.” The second stanza, the speaker says that the running tides are calling them to the sea, and that they cannot be denied so that shows Page #2 that the speaker has no choice but to go to the ocean. The second part of the 2nd stanza, the speaker wants a windy day so that the boat can sail better or perhaps faster. The
8/14/13
Headley
2nd block Poetry Response: “Sea Fever” by John Masefield
The poem “Sea Fever” is a very meaningful poem. The poem is very short, but has many meanings and different styles of poetry in it. When you first start the poem it seems as its going to be gloomy and very bland but picks up its meaning in the 2nd stanza. This poetry response will break down the poem and explain everything about it including the Title, Connotation, Attitude, Shifts, and the theme. Starting with the analysis of the title before even reading the poem, it seems that whoever is speaking has a love for the sea and cannot let it go. The speaker has a connection with sea; maybe she lost a loved one, family, friend or just loves the sea. The title has a very strong meaning in my opinion, because to say you have “Sea-Fever” means that the speaker cannot live without the sea or is very sick when away for the sea. Now let’s start to paraphrase the poem. In the first stanza the speaker must go down to the sea, which refers that she has sea fever. She wishes that a tall ship and star steer her by, so the speaker wishes that the ship will make it home by following the stars. The writer uses some imagery by saying “the wheel’s kick and the winds song” that gives us the image that the boat is in very strong wing and that the waves are slapping the front bow and the wind is shaking the sails. In the last line of the first stanza the speaker appeals to the senses by saying “the grey mist and grey dawn breaking.” The second stanza, the speaker says that the running tides are calling them to the sea, and that they cannot be denied so that shows Page #2 that the speaker has no choice but to go to the ocean. The second part of the 2nd stanza, the speaker wants a windy day so that the boat can sail better or perhaps faster. The