Text C Sea Fever

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.

1.Pair work: Discuss the following questions with your partner.

1)What is the theme of the poem?

2)How did seamen use the stars to navigate a ship (Line 2)?

3)What is meant by vagrant gypsy life(Line 9)?

4)What are the figures of speech employed by the poet?

5)What is the meaning of “the long trick” in the last line?

2.Solo work: Write a paragraph in which you sum up what you see to be the poem’s main idea.

John Masefield’s poem Sea Fever is a work of art that brings beauty to the English language through its use of rhythm, imagery and many complex figures of speech...

Proper Names

Lilliput 利立浦特(小人国)

Blefuscu 伯莱福斯居岛(Lilliput小人国对岸的岛国)

Notes

1. Daniel Defoe (1659-1731):He was an English trader, writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe.Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain and along with others such as Richardson, who were among the founders of the English novel.As a prolific and versatile writer, he wrote more than 500 books, pamphlets and journals on various topics, such as politics, crime, and religion.

2. Picaresque narrative::It emerged in sixteenth-century Spain.“Picaro”is Spanish for “rogue”, and a typical story concerns the escapades of an insouciant rascal who lives by his wits and shows little if any alteration of character through the long succession of his adventures.Picaresque fiction is realistic in manner, episodic in structure (that is, composed of a sequence of events held together largely because they happened to the one person), and often satiric in aim.

3. Jonathan Swift (1667-1745):He was an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet and cleric who became Dean of St.Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin.He is remembered for works such as Gulliver’s Travels, A Modest Proposal, A Journal to Stella, Drapier’s Letters, The Battle of the Books,An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity, and A Tale of a Tub.Swift is probably the foremost prose satirist in the English language, and is less well-known for his poetry.

4. Lilliput and Blefuscu:They are two fictional island nations that appear in the first part of the 1726 novel Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift.The two islands are neighbours in the South Indian Ocean, separated by a channel eight hundred yards wide.Both are inhabited by tiny people who are about one-twelfth the height of ordinary human beings.The capital of Lilliput is Mildendo.

5. John Edward Masefield (1878-1967):The British poet was born in Herefordshire.He studied at King’s School in Warwick before training as a merchant seaman.In 1895, he deserted his ship in New York City and worked there in a carpet factory before returning to London to write poems describing his experience at sea.Masefield was appointed British poet laureate in 1930.

For Fun

Works to Read

1. Treasure Island (1883):It isan adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of “pirates and buried gold”.Traditionally considered a coming-of-age story, Treasure Island is an adventure tale known for its atmosphere, characters and action, and also as a wry commentary on the ambiguity of morality, unusual for children’s literature then and now.

2. Kim (1901):It is a picaresque novel by Rudyard Kipling.The story unfolds against the backdrop of The Great Game, the political conflict between Russia and Britain in Central Asia.It is set after the Second Afghan War which ended in 1881, probably in the period of 1893-1898.The novel is notable for its detailed portrait of the people, culture, and varied religions of India.“The book presents a vivid picture of India, its teeming populations, religions, and superstitions, and the life of the bazaars and the road.”

Movies to See

1. A Knight’s Tale (2001):This is an American comedy-adventure film written, directed, and produced by Brian Helgeland.The film follows the story of William Thatcher, a peasant masquerading as a knight, along with his companions in the world of medieval jousting.William poses as a knight and competes in tournaments, winning accolades and acquiring friendships with such historical figures as Edward, the Black Prince of Wales and Geoffrey Chaucer.The film was a box office success, garnering $117,487,473 with a budget of just over $41 million.

2. Alice in Wonderland (2010):This is an American computer-animated/live action fantasy adventure film directed by Tim Burton and released by Walt Disney Pictures.Despite its short theatrical release window and mixed reviews, the film grossed over $1.02 billion worldwide.As of October 2011, it is the ninth highest-grossing film of all time.