The Sea Voyage
From a gay island green and fair,With gentle blasts of southern air,Across the deep we held our way,Around our barque smooth waters played,No envious clouds obscur'd the day,Serene came on the evening shade.
Still farther to the north we drew,And Porto Rico's mountains blue,Were just decaying on the eye,When from the main arose the sun;Before his ray the shadows fly,As we before the breezes run.
Now northward of the tropic pass'd,The fickle skies grew black at last;The ruffian winds began to roar,The sea obey'd their tyrant force,And we, alas! too far from shore,Must now forsake our destin'd course.
The studding sails at last to hand,The vent'rous captain gave command;But scarcely to the task went theyWhen a vast billow o'er us broke,And tore the sheets and tacks away,Nor could the booms sustain the stroke.
Still vaster rose the angry main.The winds through every shroud complain;The topsails we could spread no more,Though doubly reef'd, the furious blastAway the fluttering canvas bore,And vow'd destruction to the mast.
When now the northern storm was quell'd,A calm ensued--but ocean swell'dBeyond the towering mountain's height,Till from the south new winds arose;Our sails we spread at dead of night,And fair, though fierce, the tempest blows.
When morning rose, the skies were clearThe gentle breezes warm and fair,Convey'd us o'er the wat'ry road;A ship o'ertook us on the way,Her thousand sails were spread abroad,And flutter'd in the face of day.
At length, through many a climate pass'd,Cæsaria's hills we saw at last,And reach'd the land of lovely dames;My charming Cælia there I found,'Tis she my warmest friendship claims,The fairest maid that treads the ground.
Words in this poem
- barque n.
- Formerly, any small sailing vessel, as a pinnace, fishing smack, etc.; also, a rowing boat; a barge. Now applied poetically to a sailing vessel or boat of any kind. [F. barque, fr. Sp. or It. barca, fr. LL. barca for barica. See Barge.]
- envious a.
- Malignant; mischievous; spiteful. [OF. envios, F. envieux, fr. L. invidiosus, fr. invidia envy. See Envy, and cf. Invidious.]
- northward a.
- Toward the north; nearer to the north than to the east or west point. [AS. noredhweard.]
- studding n.
- Material for studs, or joists; studs, or joists, collectively; studs.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- billow n.
- A great wave or surge of the sea or other water, caused usually by violent wind. [Cf. Icel. bylgja billow, Dan. bölge, Sw. bölja; akin to MHG. bulge billow, bag, and to E. bulge. See Bulge.]
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- tore n.
- The dead grass that remains on mowing land in winter and spring. Mortimer. [Probably from the root of tear; cf. W. tór a break, cut, tóri to break, cut.]
- angry a.
- Troublesome; vexatious; rigorous. [See Anger.]
- towering a.
- Very high; elevated; rising aloft; as, a towering height.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Sea Voyage is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Philip Freneau, Poet of the American Revolution. Volume 1 (of 3), Project Gutenberg ebook #38475; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Philip Freneau, The Sea Voyage, in Columbus to Ferdinand, and other poems (1786–1815), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #38475, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/freneau-poems/the-sea-voyage.html, id L26083.
Form and metre
The Sea Voyage is 48 lines in 8 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABCBC, complete in 7 of its 8 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.6 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 10% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AABCBC fairA · airA · wayB · playedC · dayB · shadeC
- 2 AABCBC drewA · blueA · eyeB · sunC · flyB · runC
- 3 AABCBC pass'dA · lastA · roarB · forceC · shoreB · courseC
- 4 AABCBC handA · commandA · theyB · brokeC · awayB · strokeC
- 5 AABCBC mainA · complainA · moreB · blastC · boreB · mastC
- 6 AABCBC quell'dA · swell'dA · heightB · aroseC · nightB · blowsC
- 7 AA-B-B clearA · fairA · road · wayB · abroad · dayB
- 8 AABCBC pass'dA · lastA · damesB · foundC · claimsB · groundC
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| From a gay island green and fair, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| With gentle blasts of southern air, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Across the deep we held our way, | 8 | ˘/····/· |
| Around our barque smooth waters played, | 8 | ··/··/˘· |
| No envious clouds obscur'd the day, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| Serene came on the evening shade. | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| Still farther to the north we drew, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And Porto Rico's mountains blue, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Were just decaying on the eye, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| When from the main arose the sun; | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Before his ray the shadows fly, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| As we before the breezes run. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Now northward of the tropic pass'd, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The fickle skies grew black at last; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The ruffian winds began to roar, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| The sea obey'd their tyrant force, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| And we, alas! too far from shore, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Must now forsake our destin'd course. | 8 | ··˘///˘· |
| The studding sails at last to hand, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The vent'rous captain gave command; | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| But scarcely to the task went they | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| When a vast billow o'er us broke, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And tore the sheets and tacks away, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Nor could the booms sustain the stroke. | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Still vaster rose the angry main. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The winds through every shroud complain; | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| The topsails we could spread no more, | 8 | ········ |
| Though doubly reef'd, the furious blast | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Away the fluttering canvas bore, | 8 | ˘/·/˘/˘· |
| And vow'd destruction to the mast. | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| When now the northern storm was quell'd, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A calm ensued--but ocean swell'd | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Beyond the towering mountain's height, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Till from the south new winds arose; | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Our sails we spread at dead of night, | 8 | /······· |
| And fair, though fierce, the tempest blows. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| When morning rose, the skies were clear | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The gentle breezes warm and fair, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Convey'd us o'er the wat'ry road; | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| A ship o'ertook us on the way, | 8 | ········ |
| Her thousand sails were spread abroad, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| And flutter'd in the face of day. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| At length, through many a climate pass'd, | 8 | ···/·/˘· |
| Cæsaria's hills we saw at last, | 8 | ········ |
| And reach'd the land of lovely dames; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| My charming Cælia there I found, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| 'Tis she my warmest friendship claims, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| The fairest maid that treads the ground. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
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