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Sea-Fever. By 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.
- Summary
- Meaning
- Form, Rhyme Scheme, & Meter
- Poetic Devices & Figures of Speech
- Line-By-Line Analysis & Explanation
- Themes
- Tone
- Imagery
- Historical Context
- External Resources
John Masefield’s “Sea Fever” describes a speaker’s inner proximity to the sea. How badly he wishes to go down the sea on a ship is portrayed in each stanza. The first stanza, for instance, begins with the speaker’s longing for the lonely sea under the wide sky. He asks for nothing else except a ship to sail continuously. The wheel’s sound associate...
The title of the poem “Sea Fever” is interesting to take note of. In the title, the term “Fever” refers to the nervous excitement in the speaker’s heart while he thinks about life on the sea. It is like a pleasurable disease that he does not want a cure of. He badly wants to live his life with this amorous sickness for the sea. Through the title, M...
Form
“Sea Fever” consists of three quatrains or stanzas having four lines each. In each quatrain, Masefield uses the end-stopped stanza pattern in order to present a complete idea within a stanza. It begins with the pronoun “I”. So, the speaker of this piece closely resembles the poet. Due to the presence of a first-person speaker alongside its beautiful rhythm, this poem is an example of a lyric. Structurally, the long lines reflect a sense of longing in the speaker’s heart.
Rhyme Scheme
The rhyme scheme of the poem is AABB CCDD EEFF. This scheme is followed throughout. So, each stanza consists of two rhyming couplets that are tied together concerning the subject matter. In the first stanza, the rhyming pairs of words include “sky” and “by”, and “shaking” and “breaking”.
Meter
Each line of the text contains, more or less, fourteen syllables. The poem is written in a combination of anapestic and iambic meter with a few variations. Let’s look at the scansion of the first stanza to understand the overall metrical pattern. In this excerpt, readers can find the use of spondees and pyrrhics in the third and fourth lines. While the last foot of these lines is trochaic. The use of anapestic rhythm alongside quick iambic notes resonates with the sound of sea waves.
In “Sea Fever”, Masefield uses the following poetic devices: 1. Refrain:Each quatrain begins with a refrain of the phrase “I must down to the seas again”. It creates a resonance of the dominant passion in the speaker’s heart. 2. Personification:It occurs in the following phrases: “lonely sea”, “a tall ship and a star steer her by”, “wheel’s kick”, ...
Lines 1-4
The poem “Sea Fever” begins with the speaker’s wish to go to the sea. He uses the term “must” in order to reflect a sense of urgency or importance. It means he somehow needs to go there to keep. The nervous excitement concerning the sea is referred to in the title. In the first line, he talks about going to the “lonely sea” and the sky. It seems without his presence the sea feels lonely. If he is not there who will drink its beauty to the lees. This thirst of sea fever cannot keep him ashore....
Lines 5-8
The second stanza begins with a refrain of the phrase “I must down to the seas again”. Masefield uses this repetition in order to portray the speaker’s state of mind. He badly wants to go down to the seas anyhow as the running tide calls him. The “running tide” is a reference to the sound of sea waves. According to the speaker, it is a “wild” kind of call that a listener cannot deny. Here, the term “wild” reflects the untamed nature of the sea. It is boundless, carefree, and mighty. The same...
Lines 9-12
In the last stanza of “Sea Fever”, Masefield further describes life at sea. He refers to it as the “vagrant gypsy life”. So, the speaker does not want a life of immobility, comfort, and contentment. He wants to break free of his cage and be like the sea. That’s why he wishes to be like a vagrant or gypsy. Like them, he does not want to stay in one place, forever. He wants to explore, unravel, and wonder about the beauty of the sea. He wants to follow the path where the gulls take him with the...
Masefield’s “Sea Fever” explores the themes of wanderlust, the beauty of the sea, longing, and nature. The main theme of this poem concerns a speaker’s longing for the sea. He describes his attachment with it to “Sea Fever”, an ailment that only the sea can cure. It is also a reference to the speaker’s excitement whenever he thinks of life at sea. ...
The tone of the poem is calm, emotive, and urgent. In each stanza, the repetition of the phrase “I must down to the seas again” creates a sense of urgency. The speaker somehow needs to go on a ship in order to enjoy the serene beauty of the sea. It seems as if the sea keeps his spirit alive like the air we breathe. He must go there to sustain himse...
Masefield uses the following types of imagery in “Sea Fever”. 1. Visual Imagery:Masefield uses this type of imagery in order to depict the sea, sky, and ship visually in the first few lines. The line “And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking” contains a visual image of dawn at sea. 2. Auditory Imagery:It is used in “wind’s song”,...
“Sea Fever” was first published in John Masefield’s first poetry collection Salt-Water Ballads. It was published in 1902. This poem was later included in The Collected Poems of John Masefield in 1923 with a slight alteration in its first line. This book concerns the themes of seafaring and maritime history. Masefield spent his early years aboard. W...
Full Text of Salt-Water Ballads by John Masefield (1902)— Read more poems included in Masefield’s first poetry collection.About Salt-Water Poems and Ballads— Learn about the history of the book’s publication and the popular poems of this collection.The Full Text of “Sea Fever”. 1 I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, 2 And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by; 3 And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking, 4 And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.
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.
10 de abr. de 2023 · And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking, I must 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 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.
Text. Sea Fever. English source: 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.
