The Inchcape Rock (0)

“And the Blue Sky My Fretted Dome Shall Be”-
Nature vs Society In the Works of British Romanticists
Research paper
Liisi Pajula
11 b
The Inchcape Rock
by Robert Southey
The Inchcape Rock is a poem about Sir Ralph the Rover , an evil man, who wants to sink other ships, so he could use his own ship to blunder villages and towns. He removes a warning bell that warns sailors about a secret underwater rock. By doing this, he signs his own death sentence. At a dark night , he crashes his ship to the Rock, because there was no bell to warn him.
In the first stanza of the poem Southey describes the surroundings. The tone of the poem is set, at the begging it is very serene and relaxed. The weather and sea are calm, the ship stands , undisturbed, in the water. The reader is supposed to feel joy and relax when this description is given , it brings to mind a sunny and warm summer -day, when everything is just perfect. The point on the first stanza is only to set the tone, it has no real artistic value .
The second stanza states that there was no sign of the Inchcape Rock, which lay below the water surface. The water gave no sign of that deadly rock and the low, calm waves did not move , or sound the Inchcape Bell - the warning bell, put there to alert the sailors of a nearby peril . Southey creates tension by describing the location of the bell “ Without either sign or sound of their shock / The waves flow'd over the Inchcape Rock;” - the ships are left clueless about the Rock that awaits, to tear them apart, under the clam surface. The mood immediately changes with this stanza. The word “shock” has an ominous under-tone, which gives the reader a hint of the future horrors, which are going to happen near the rock.
In the third stanza we are explained how the Bell came to be there, where it now stands. The Abbot of Aberbrothok put it there, on a buoy near the Rock to warn ships of the hidden danger . During a storm the buoy swings and the Bell rings, by doing so, alerts the ships of nearby peril.
The fourth stanza is pretty much the same as the third one, just written in different words . It says that although the Rock is hidden beneath the waves, sailors are able to hear the warning bell, can avoid the Inchcape Rock and thank the Abbot of Aberbrothok for putting the bell there.
With the fifth stanza, we turn back to the beginning , repeating the first stanza, in a slightly different manner . The location is described – it is a sunny day, everything seems to be joyful and lovely. The seabirds are screaming with joy, as they are flying high in the sky. The only thing worth noticing in this stanza is the word “scream'd” (“The sea- birds scream'd as they wheel'd round , / And there was joyaunce in their sound.”), which would normally not be used if the tone is calm and lovely, but on the other hand, screaming does most closely describe the sound sea gulls and other such birds make.
In the next stanza, Southey uses contrast to distinguish the bell from the surrounding ocean . The buoy on which the bell stands on, seems like a darker speck on the smooth water surface. It stands out so clearly that it catches the eye of Sir Ralph the Rover.
Next, the mood of the Rover is expressed. It is stated that his heart was filled with joy for spring , he whistled and sung , but his joy was wicked – he was happy because he had seen the bell and planned on doing something bad.
As his eye lay, fixed upon the Inchcape Bell, he commanded his men to lower a boat to the water and row him to the Rock. He wanted to “ plague ” the Abbot of Aberbrothok, so no man would ever thank him again .
“The boat is lower'd, the boatmen row, / And to the Inchcape Rock they go; / Sir Ralph bent over from the boat, / And he cut the Bell from the Inchcape float.” This stanza is quite literal, it does not take a genius to understand what it is about - the sailors take the evil man to the buoy and he cuts the Bell free.
In the tenth stanza, Sir Ralph the Rover lets the bell sink to the depths of the ocean- “Down sunk the Bell with a gurgling sound. / The bubbles rose and burst around ;”. He then enviously and with malice says that the next man who comes to the Rock, will not thank the Abbot (because his ship will crash the Rock and he will die in a very painful manner). In this stanza, Southey takes the gut- feeling of something bad happening to the next level, by describing the bubbles that appear after Ralph has thrown the bell into the water, such words as “gurgling” and “burst” also have a negative undertone and add to the feeling of the approaching danger.
We are then told that Sir Ralph then went scouring for treasure , and became a very rich man. He then wants to return to Scotland , and sets his course towards the homeland shore . In the mean time, however , the weather has changed – there is such a thick fog the sailors can not see even the sun and the wind had also died away , so they were at the mercy of the sea.
The Rover stands on the deck of the ship, worrying. It is now a very dark night - there are no stars , nor the moon to give them light . He hopes the moon will soon rise , so they would be able to know where they are. Then one of sailors says that he can hear the sound of the waves breaking and he believes they are near a shore. Sir Ralph answers him that he is not sure where they are, but he wishes he could hear the Inchcape Bell. Here again, the sensation of something bad happening is very strong , the description of the dead-silent sea is no longer lovely and relaxing, but vice versa, very disturbing. The complete darkness also has a part in it, of course.
The sailors, obviously, do not hear the Bell (as it is in the bottom of the ocean). The current is very strong and it carries the floating ship with it. Then, suddenly the ship hits a rock and the understand they have found the Inchcape Rock. As the ship is sinking, Sir Ralph the Rover curses himself for removing the Bell from it's rightful position .
“But even in his dying fear / One dreadful sound could the Rover hear, / A sound as if with the Inchcape Bell, / The Devil below was ringing his knell.” The last stanza is written in a very powerful way. It says that at his dying hour, the Rover finally understands that he himself had signed his death sentence by removing the bell.
The poem is filled with romanticist images and is quite literally understandable. But, if we consider that a ship was an ancient symbol for civilization, the poem acquires a wholly different dimension. Also, the contrast between society and nature then becomes very distinct . We are then presented with the idea of civilization going down the drain just because of some human vices, like envy. Sir Ralph let his jealousy of the Abbot cloud his clear sightedness. When throwing the bell to the depths of the sea, he did not perceive that in the future, he might need the services of the warning device for himself. So it could be said that Southey believed the doom for mankind to lie in the selfishness and short-sightedness of men.
Southey used very typical romanticist images in this poem. The sea was a very popular theme at that period , because it is the best proof of nature's supremacy over humans. The scene at sea can change very quickly, at one moment being calm and smooth, and at the next with a raging storm. It is absolutely uncontrollable, and so is the best way to show people how small they are when compared to the awesome power of Mother Nature.
The Inchcape Rock
Robert Southey
No stir in the air, no stir in the sea,
The ship was still as she could be,
Her sails from heaven received no motion ,
Her keel was steady in the ocean.
Without either sign or sound of their shock
The waves flow'd over the Inchcape Rock;
So little they rose, so little they fell ,
They did not move the Inchcape Bell.
The Abbot of Aberbrothok
Had placed that bell on the Inchcape Rock;
On a buoy in the storm it floated and swung,
And over the waves its warning rung.
When the Rock was hid by the surge's swell ,
The mariners heard the warning bell;
And then they knew the perilous Rock
And blest the Abbot of Aberbrothok.
The Sun in heaven was shining gay,
All things were joyful on that day;
The sea-birds scream'd as they wheel'd round,
And there was joyaunce in their sound.
The buoy of the Inchcape Bell was seen
A darker speck on the ocean green ;
Sir Ralph the Rover walk 'd his deck,
And he fixed his eye on the darker speck.
He felt the cheering power of spring.
It made him whistle, it made him sing ;
His heart was mirthful to excess,
But the Rover's mirth was wickedness.
His eye was on the Inchcape float;
Quoth me, 'My men, put out the boat,
And row me to the Inchcape Rock,
And I'll plague the Abbot of Aberbrothok.'
The boat is lower'd, the boatmen row,
And to the Inchcape Rock they go;
Sir Ralph bent over from the boat,
And he cut the Bell from the Inchcape float.
Down sunk the Bell with a gurgling sound.
The bubbles rose and burst around;
Quoth Sir Ralph, 'The next who comes to the Rock
Won't bless the Abbot of Aberbrothok.'
Sir Ralph the Rover sail'd away,
He scour'd the seas for many a day;
And now grown rich with plunder'd store ,
He steers his course for Scotland's shore.
So thick a haze o'erspread the sky
They cannot see the Sun on high;
The wind hath blown a gale all day,
At evening it hath died away.
On the deck the Rover takes his stand ,
So dark it is they see no land .
Quoth Sir Ralph, 'It will be lighter soon,
For there is the dawn of the rising Moon.'
'Canst hear,' said one, 'the breakers roar?
For methinks we should be near the shore.'
'Now where we are I cannot tell ,
But I wish I could hear the Inchcape Bell.'
They hear no sound, the swell is strong;
Though the wind hath fallen they drift along ,
Till the vessel strikes with a shivering shock,-
'Oh, Christ ! It is the Inchcape Rock!'
Sir Ralph the Rover tore his hair ;
He curst himself in his despair;
The waves rush in on every side,
The ship is sinking beneath the tide.
But even in his dying fear
One dreadful sound could the Rover hear,
A sound as if with the Inchcape Bell,
The Devil below was ringing his knell.
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