Sleep at Sea
Sound the deep waters:--Who shall sound that deep?--Too short the plummet,And the watchmen sleep.Some dream of effortUp a toilsome steep;Some dream of pasture groundsFor harmless sheep.
White shapes flit to and froFrom mast to mast;They feel the distant tempestThat nears them fast:Great rocks are straight ahead,Great shoals not past;They shout to one anotherUpon the blast.
Oh, soft the streams drop musicBetween the hills,And musical the birds' nestsBeside those rills:The nests are types of homeLove-hidden from ills,The nests are types of spiritsLove-music fills.
So dream the sleepers,Each man in his place;The lightning shows the smileUpon each face:The ship is driving, driving,It drives apace:And sleepers smile, and spiritsBewail their case.
The lightning glares and reddensAcross the skies;It seems but sunsetTo those sleeping eyes.When did the sun go downOn such a wise?From such a sunsetWhen shall day arise?
'Wake,' call the spirits:But to heedless ears:They have forgotten sorrowsAnd hopes and fears;They have forgotten perilsAnd smiles and tears;Their dream has held them long,Long years and years.
'Wake,' call the spirits again:But it would takeA louder summonsTo bid them awake.Some dream of pleasureFor another's sake;Some dream, forgetfulOf a lifelong ache.
One by one slowly,Ah, how sad and slow!Wailing and prayingThe spirits rise and go:Clear stainless spiritsWhite as white as snow;Pale spirits, wailingFor an overthrow.
One by one flitting,Like a mournful birdWhose song is tired at lastFor no mate is heard.The loving voice is silent,The useless word;One by one flittingSick with hope deferred.
Driving and driving,The ship drives amain:While swift from mast to mastShapes flit again,Flit silent as the silenceWhere men lie slain;Their shadow cast upon the sailsIs like a stain.
No voice to call the sleepers,No hand to raise:They sleep to death in dreaming,Of length of days.Vanity of vanities,The Preacher says:Vanity is the endOf all their ways.
Words in this poem
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- plummet n.
- A piece of lead attached to a line, used in sounding the depth of water. [OE. plommet, OF. plommet, fr. plom, plum, lead, F. plomb. See Plumb.]
- flit a.
- Nimble; quick; swift. See Fleet.
- ahead adv.
- In or to the front; in advance; onward. [Pref. a- + head.]
- apace adv.
- With a quick pace; quick; fast; speedily. [Pref. a- + pace. OE. a pas at a walk, in which a is the article. See Pace.]
- forgetful a.
- Apt to forget; easily losing remembrance; as, a forgetful man should use helps to strengthen his memory.
- lifelong a.
- Lasting or continuing through life. [Life + long. Cf. Livelong.]
- ache n.
- A name given to several species of plants; as, smallage, wild celery, parsley. Holland. [F. ache, L. apium parsley.]
- stainless a.
- Free from stain; immaculate.
- flitting n.
- A flying with lightness and celerity; a fluttering.
- amain adv.
- With might; with full force; vigorously; violently; exceedingly. [Pref. a- + main. See 2d Main, n.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sleep at Sea is in the public domain. This text is taken from Goblin Market, The Prince's Progress, and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #16950; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Christina Rossetti, Sleep at Sea, in Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16950, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/rossetti-goblin-market/sleep-at-sea.html, id L04291.
Form and metre
Sleep at Sea is 88 lines in 11 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 5.3 syllables. 29 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 35% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
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 -A-A-A-A waters · deepA · plummet · sleepA · effort · steepA · grounds · sheepA
- 2 -AAA-A-A fro · mastA · tempestA · fastA · ahead · pastA · another · blastA
- 3 -A-A-A-A music · hillsA · nests · rillsA · home · illsA · spirits · fillsA
- 4 -A-A-A-A sleepers · placeA · smile · faceA · driving · apaceA · spirits · caseA
- 5 -ABA-ABA reddens · skiesA · sunsetB · eyesA · down · wiseA · sunsetB · ariseA
- 6 -A-A-A-A spirits · earsA · sorrows · fearsA · perils · tearsA · long · yearsA
- 7 -A-A-A-A again · takeA · summons · awakeA · pleasure · sakeA · forgetful · acheA
- 8 -A-A-A-A slowly · slowA · praying · goA · spirits · snowA · wailing · overthrowA
- 9 AB-B-BAB flittingA · birdB · last · heardB · silent · wordB · flittingA · deferredB
- 10 -A-A-A-A driving · amainA · mast · againA · silence · slainA · sails · stainA
- 11 AA-AAA-A sleepersA · raiseA · dreaming · daysA · vanitiesA · saysA · end · waysA
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Sound the deep waters:-- | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Who shall sound that deep?-- | 5 | ····· |
| Too short the plummet, | 5 | ···/˘ |
| And the watchmen sleep. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Some dream of effort | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Up a toilsome steep; | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Some dream of pasture grounds | 6 | ···/˘· |
| For harmless sheep. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| White shapes flit to and fro | 6 | ······ |
| From mast to mast; | 4 | ···· |
| They feel the distant tempest | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| That nears them fast: | 4 | ···· |
| Great rocks are straight ahead, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Great shoals not past; | 4 | ···· |
| They shout to one another | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Upon the blast. | 4 | ···· |
| Oh, soft the streams drop music | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Between the hills, | 4 | ···· |
| And musical the birds' nests | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| Beside those rills: | 4 | ˘/·· |
| The nests are types of home | 6 | ······ |
| Love-hidden from ills, | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| The nests are types of spirits | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Love-music fills. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| So dream the sleepers, | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Each man in his place; | 5 | ····· |
| The lightning shows the smile | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Upon each face: | 4 | ···· |
| The ship is driving, driving, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| It drives apace: | 4 | ··˘/ |
| And sleepers smile, and spirits | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Bewail their case. | 4 | ˘/·· |
| The lightning glares and reddens | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Across the skies; | 4 | ˘/·· |
| It seems but sunset | 5 | ···/· |
| To those sleeping eyes. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| When did the sun go down | 6 | ······ |
| On such a wise? | 4 | ···· |
| From such a sunset | 5 | ···/· |
| When shall day arise? | 5 | ···˘/ |
| 'Wake,' call the spirits: | 5 | ···/˘ |
| But to heedless ears: | 5 | ··/˘· |
| They have forgotten sorrows | 7 | ··˘/˘/˘ |
| And hopes and fears; | 4 | ···· |
| They have forgotten perils | 7 | ··˘/˘/˘ |
| And smiles and tears; | 4 | ···· |
| Their dream has held them long, | 6 | ······ |
| Long years and years. | 4 | ···· |
| 'Wake,' call the spirits again: | 7 | ···/˘˘/ |
| But it would take | 4 | ···· |
| A louder summons | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| To bid them awake. | 5 | ···˘/ |
| Some dream of pleasure | 5 | ···/˘ |
| For another's sake; | 5 | ·˘/˘· |
| Some dream, forgetful | 5 | ··˘/˘ |
| Of a lifelong ache. | 5 | ··//· |
| One by one slowly, | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Ah, how sad and slow! | 5 | ····· |
| Wailing and praying | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| The spirits rise and go: | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Clear stainless spirits | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| White as white as snow; | 5 | ····· |
| Pale spirits, wailing | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| For an overthrow. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| One by one flitting, | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Like a mournful bird | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Whose song is tired at last | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| For no mate is heard. | 5 | ····· |
| The loving voice is silent, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| The useless word; | 4 | ·/˘· |
| One by one flitting | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Sick with hope deferred. | 5 | ···˘/ |
| Driving and driving, | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| The ship drives amain: | 5 | ···˘/ |
| While swift from mast to mast | 6 | ······ |
| Shapes flit again, | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Flit silent as the silence | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Where men lie slain; | 4 | ···· |
| Their shadow cast upon the sails | 8 | ·/······ |
| Is like a stain. | 4 | ···· |
| No voice to call the sleepers, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| No hand to raise: | 4 | ···· |
| They sleep to death in dreaming, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Of length of days. | 4 | ···· |
| Vanity of vanities, | 7 | /˘˘·/˘˘ |
| The Preacher says: | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Vanity is the end | 6 | /˘˘··· |
| Of all their ways. | 4 | ···· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.