S.Y.J.C. 2.3
2.3 The Inchcape Rock
Inchcape Rock is a legend, a reef which is situated in the North Sea, close to the coastal region of Angus in Scotland. The poem is based on the series of events that took place around the dangerous rocks of the east coast of Scotland.
Poet Robert Southey:
He was born in Bristol, England. He was a Poet Laureate of England from 1813 to 1843. Some of his short poems like ‘The Scholar’. ‘The Battle of Blenheim’, ‘Bishop Hatto’, ‘The Inchcape Rock’ etc. are very popular with the school children.
Theme of the poem:
The poem gives us a message that those who do wrong things will meet with due punishment. In short - "As you sow, so shall you reap".
Story depicted in the poem:
The poem begins on a calm note. The waves were flowing over the inchcape rock without any impact. The Abbot of Aberbrothok had placed a bell on the Inchcape Rocks to warn the sailor about the perilous rocks. When the sea pirate Ralph saw the bell he felt jealous of the Abbot's popularity. So he decided to cut the bell. He asked his men to sail him to the bell. He cut off the rope of the bell and the bell went down with a gurgling sound. The Ralph moved on and after plundering the Ships, was returning to his land. Suddenly the weather was getting worse. Thick haze covered the sky. A violent storm began to blow. Nothing was visible due to bad weather. But the Ralph was sure that the weather would soon improve. The Sailor wished they could hear the Inchcape Bell. But as it was already cut down, they didn’t hear any sound. At last the ship collided with the Inchacpe rock and drowned along with all his sailors. But even in his dying fear, one thing the Ralph could hear. It’s the sound of the gurgling bell. In fact it was the devil below who was ringing his knell.
Ice Breakers:
A) Word register related to marine life.
1) sailors
2) fish
3) algae
4) crab
5) waves
6) coast
7) ocean
8) seashore
9) species
10) salt water
11) aquatic
12) ship
13) icebergs
14) sand
15) reef
16) sea bird
17) rock
18) iceberg
19) shells
20) islands
21) coral beaches
B) The functions of a lighthouse.
1) to show the direction
2) to serve as navigational aids / tool.
3) to warn ships about danger in the sea areas.
4) to show proper direction during the storm.
5) to guide the sailors to reach the coast.
6) help ships to find their way across the sea.
7) to tell ships that they are nearing the port.
8) It is metaphorically beacon light to all who are frustrated by failures
C) The various famous rocks in the world and the places.
1) Balancing Rock – (Mahabalipuram)
2) Rock of Gibraltar – (Strait of Gibraltar, Mediterranean Sea)
3) Plymouth Rock – (shore of Plymouth, harbour)
4) Ayer's Rock – Uluru (Australia)
5) Black stone-Mecca (Saudi Arabia)
6) Split Apple Rock-(New Zealand)
7) Old Harry Rock-(England)
8) Balancing Rock-(Canada)
9) Wave Rock – (USA)
10) Nanya Rock- (Taiwan)
Stanzas - 01 to 04
Guess the meaning of-
Stir-swirl, whirl, rotate (here movement)
Still (adj)-- here,not moving , steady, silent,quiet,calm, stable etc.
Sails- canvas used for mast , strong sheet of fabric attached to a boat.
Keel - base or bottom of ship
Motion –movement
Steady -- stable
Shock - blow, jolt, stunned, unpleasant event
Buoy - floater, drifter, floating object anchored in the sea
Swing (Swung) - swayed, waved
Ring (Rung)-sounded, call for attention by sounding a bell
Mariner-sailor, seamen
Abbot-- head of Abbey of monks
Abbey-- a building where monks or nuns live or used to live
Aberbrothok- largest town in Scotland
Surge's swell--sudden and great rise in the level of the sea
Perilous--dangerous
blest--old English form of blessed
Stanza 05 to 08
New Words –
Joyance – (Poetic) joy, delight, enjoyment
gay- happy, light hearted and carefree
Wheel's round-- whirling over the sea, soaring
Joyance-- screaming in joy, delight
Speck – dot, spot, point, mark
Sir Ralph the Rover – a sea pirate
Pirate- a person who attacks and Rob’s ships at the sea.
Deck – flooring of a ship, boarding place in a ship, the upper floor of the
sea
The darker speck – here metaphorically used for the Inchcape Bell
Cheering – encouraging, motivating, soothing , delighted
Mirthful – joyful, merry, gleeful, overjoyed, amusing
Wickedness – evil, malice, badness, being immoral
Inchcape float – means the buoy (floater)
Quoth – archaic word for quoted (said/spoke)
Row – oared to, sailed to, rowing by oars in waters
Plague – torture, torment, cause trouble, kill, destroy
Spring- season name
float- a thing that is buoyant in water
Spring- name of one of the seasons
float-a thing that is buoyant in water
Stanza 09 to 12
Meanings:
Sunk- past participle form of sink, submerged, go down
gurgling-bubbling, make a hallow sound
burst-apart suddenly and violently
Scour'd-(here) travelled freely, energetically for ships to rob
Plunder'd store-big amount of looted/robbed wealth
Steers- directs the course of the ship, guide
haze-thin mist, fog
hath-(an archaic word)has
gale- a very strong wind
Stanza no.13 to 17
Vocabulary
dawn-(here)moon will appear, the first appearance of light in the sky before sunrise
Canst-can, an archaic word for you can
breakers-(here) heavy sea waves
Methinks- it seems to me (archaic form of 'I think')
Swell- (here) Tide
drift- move slowly, be carried slowly by a current of air or water
Vessel- large boat, ship
Strikes-hits forcibly
tore- pulled hard
despair- frustration, absence of hope
beneath- under
dreadful- extremely bad or serious
Devil- the supreme spirit of evil, Satan, demon
Knell-the sound of a bell solemnly after death or at funeral announcement of death
Paraphrase – stanza 01-04
The atmosphere was calm and motionless. There was lack of movement in the air and in the sea. There was no force for the sails (cloth of the mast) from the sky. It made the ship and the base of the ship motionless in the ocean. The sea waves were flowing without any jolt and had a little rise and fall over the Inchcape rock that they hardly moved the Inchcape bell. Abbot of Aberbrothok had installed the bell on a floater at the Inchcape Rock in such a way that it floated and swayed on the waves during storms and warned the mariners. The mariners admired the Abbot of Aberbrothok because in the high waves they would know the hazardous rock by the warning sound of the bell which saved their lives.
Paraphrase – stanza 05-08
The sun was shining happily in the sky. All creatures on the earth were very happy on that day. Sea-birds seemed very joyful while chirping and encircling in the sky. In the widespread green ocean, the floater of the Inchcape Bell was looking like a dark spot. When Sir Ralph the Rover boarded on the ship, he gazed at that dark floater. He felt encouraging by the spring which made him whistle and sing. Even though his heart was filled up with joy, there was malice in his joy. When he saw the Inchcape floater, he ordered his men to leave the port escort him to the Inchcape Rock where he wished to trouble the Abbot of Aberbrothok.
Paraphrase – stanza 09-12
The boatmen lower the boat and sail to the Inchcape Rock. When they reach there, Sir Ralph bent down from the boat and cut the rope of the Bell from the Inchcape floater. The Bell sank down in the deep water with a gushing sound and bubbles rose up and burst around. Then Sir Ralph said that the next who would come to the rock would not praise the Abbot of Aberbrothok. Sir Ralph the Rover sailed away in search of ships for many days and looted valuables on them and became rich. Thereafter, he drove to Scotland's shore. A thick fog spreads everywhere in the sky so hardly they can see sun on high. The wind has flowed very heavily all day and stopped at evening.
Paraphrase – (Stanza 13 to 17)
Sir Ralph the Rover stands on the deck very confidently. It was so dark that no one was able to see any land nearby. Then, Sir Ralph said that there would soon be some light as the moon was about to rise. One of them asked if they could hear the sound of the waves because he thought that they should be near the coast. He added that he could not tell them where they were and hoped that he could hear the Inchcape Bell. The surge of waves is very high and they cannot hear any sound. Even though the wind has been very slow, they move forward towards till their ship crashes with a shaking jolt. Then one of them pleads Lord Christ and exclaims that it is the Inchcape Rock. Sir Ralph the Rover was totally frustrated and cursed himself in disappointment. The waves entered everywhere very fast and the ship starts to go down underneath the waters. While he was dying in the fear, the Rover could hear a horrible sound. The sound was the same like the Inchcape Bell when it was sinking down. It is as if the sound of the evil ringing a death toll for him. One who digs a ditch for others, fall in that very ditch someday.
Paraphrase- Prof. R.D.Dhumal, Junior College, Jaysingpur Dist. Kolhapur
Figures of Speech - (Stanza 01 to 04 )
1) No stir in the air, no stir in the sea
Repetition- The word 'no stir' is repeated.
Alliteration - The sound of letters 'n' & 's' are repeated.
2) The ship was still as she could be
Personification - The ship is personified.
Alliteration - The sound of letter ’sh’ is repeated.
3) Her sails from heaven received no motion
Alliteration- The sound of letter 'h' is repeated.
Personification - The ship is personified.
Inversion - The word order is changed. The correct order- Her sails received no motion from heaven.
4) Her keel was steady in the ocean.
Personification- The ship is personified.
5) So little they rose, so little they
Repetition- The word little is repeated.
Antithesis- rose and fell opposite
Anti-climax- ideas arranged in descending order
Personification- waves are personified
6) On a buoy in the storm it floated and swung
Inversion- the order of words changed for poetic effect.
Alliteration- sound of letter's' repeated
7)And over the waves its warning rung.
Alliteration= sound "w" is repeated
Personification- waves are personified
8) When the rock was hid by the surges swell
Alliteration- sound 's' repeated
Personification- the rock is personified
Figure of speech stanza 5 to 8
1) The sun in heaven was shining gay.
Inversion- order of words changed for poetic effect
2)The sea-birds scream'd as they wheel's around
Alliteration- sound of ;s; repeated
3) It made him whistle, it made him sing
Repitition- it made is repeated
Onomatopoeia- the word 'whistle' gives the feel of sound
Anaphora- It made him these words are repeated in the beginning of the line
Figure of speech stanza 9 to 12
1) The boat is lower'd, the boatmen row
Climax- words arranged in ascending order
Alliteration- sound 'b' repeated
2) And to the Inchcape Rock they go
Inversion- order of words changed for poetic effect
Alliteration- sound 't' repeated
3)Sir Ralph bent over from the boat.
Alliteration- sound 'b' repeated
4) And he cut the bell from the Inchcape float
Alliteration- sound 'f' repeated
5) Down sunk the bell with a gurgling sound
Onomatopoeia- gurgling word gives feel of the sound
6) The bubbles rose and burst around
Onomatopoeia- burst sound
Climax- ideas arranged in ascending order
Alliteration- 'b' sound repeated
7) He scour'd the seas for many a day
Alliteration- 's' sound repeated
Figure of speech stanza 13 to 17
1) On the deck the Rover takes his stand
Inversion- order of words changed
2) For there is a dawn of rising moon
Paradox- contradictory idea
3) 'Canst hear', said one,'breaker's row'?
Interrogation- question is asked
4) For me thinks we should be near the shore
Alliteration- sound of 's' repeated
5) Now where we are I cannot tell
Inversion- word order changed
Alliteration- 'w' sound repeated
6) Till the vessel strikes with a shivering shock
Transferred Epithet- adjective shivering is transferred from the vessel to shock
Alliteration- 's' sound rtepeated
Personification- the word 'shock' is personified
7) O Christ It is the Inchcape Rock!
Apostrophe- addressed directly to Christ
Exclamation- surprise statement
8) The waves rush in every side
Personification- waves are personified
9) But even in his dying fear
Transferred Epithet- adjective dying is transferred from human to fear
Personification- word fear is personified
10) A sound as if with the Inchcape Bell
Simile- direct comparison
Onomatopoeia- the word bell gives the feel of sound.
Inchcape Rock is a legend, a reef which is situated in the North Sea, close to the coastal region of Angus in Scotland. The poem is based on the series of events that took place around the dangerous rocks of the east coast of Scotland.
Poet Robert Southey:
He was born in Bristol, England. He was a Poet Laureate of England from 1813 to 1843. Some of his short poems like ‘The Scholar’. ‘The Battle of Blenheim’, ‘Bishop Hatto’, ‘The Inchcape Rock’ etc. are very popular with the school children.
Theme of the poem:
The poem gives us a message that those who do wrong things will meet with due punishment. In short - "As you sow, so shall you reap".
Story depicted in the poem:
The poem begins on a calm note. The waves were flowing over the inchcape rock without any impact. The Abbot of Aberbrothok had placed a bell on the Inchcape Rocks to warn the sailor about the perilous rocks. When the sea pirate Ralph saw the bell he felt jealous of the Abbot's popularity. So he decided to cut the bell. He asked his men to sail him to the bell. He cut off the rope of the bell and the bell went down with a gurgling sound. The Ralph moved on and after plundering the Ships, was returning to his land. Suddenly the weather was getting worse. Thick haze covered the sky. A violent storm began to blow. Nothing was visible due to bad weather. But the Ralph was sure that the weather would soon improve. The Sailor wished they could hear the Inchcape Bell. But as it was already cut down, they didn’t hear any sound. At last the ship collided with the Inchacpe rock and drowned along with all his sailors. But even in his dying fear, one thing the Ralph could hear. It’s the sound of the gurgling bell. In fact it was the devil below who was ringing his knell.
Ice Breakers:
A) Word register related to marine life.
1) sailors
2) fish
3) algae
4) crab
5) waves
6) coast
7) ocean
8) seashore
9) species
10) salt water
11) aquatic
12) ship
13) icebergs
14) sand
15) reef
16) sea bird
17) rock
18) iceberg
19) shells
20) islands
21) coral beaches
B) The functions of a lighthouse.
1) to show the direction
2) to serve as navigational aids / tool.
3) to warn ships about danger in the sea areas.
4) to show proper direction during the storm.
5) to guide the sailors to reach the coast.
6) help ships to find their way across the sea.
7) to tell ships that they are nearing the port.
8) It is metaphorically beacon light to all who are frustrated by failures
C) The various famous rocks in the world and the places.
1) Balancing Rock – (Mahabalipuram)
2) Rock of Gibraltar – (Strait of Gibraltar, Mediterranean Sea)
3) Plymouth Rock – (shore of Plymouth, harbour)
4) Ayer's Rock – Uluru (Australia)
5) Black stone-Mecca (Saudi Arabia)
6) Split Apple Rock-(New Zealand)
7) Old Harry Rock-(England)
8) Balancing Rock-(Canada)
9) Wave Rock – (USA)
10) Nanya Rock- (Taiwan)
Stanzas - 01 to 04
Guess the meaning of-
Stir-swirl, whirl, rotate (here movement)
Still (adj)-- here,not moving , steady, silent,quiet,calm, stable etc.
Sails- canvas used for mast , strong sheet of fabric attached to a boat.
Keel - base or bottom of ship
Motion –movement
Steady -- stable
Shock - blow, jolt, stunned, unpleasant event
Buoy - floater, drifter, floating object anchored in the sea
Swing (Swung) - swayed, waved
Ring (Rung)-sounded, call for attention by sounding a bell
Mariner-sailor, seamen
Abbot-- head of Abbey of monks
Abbey-- a building where monks or nuns live or used to live
Aberbrothok- largest town in Scotland
Surge's swell--sudden and great rise in the level of the sea
Perilous--dangerous
blest--old English form of blessed
Stanza 05 to 08
New Words –
Joyance – (Poetic) joy, delight, enjoyment
gay- happy, light hearted and carefree
Wheel's round-- whirling over the sea, soaring
Joyance-- screaming in joy, delight
Speck – dot, spot, point, mark
Sir Ralph the Rover – a sea pirate
Pirate- a person who attacks and Rob’s ships at the sea.
Deck – flooring of a ship, boarding place in a ship, the upper floor of the
sea
The darker speck – here metaphorically used for the Inchcape Bell
Cheering – encouraging, motivating, soothing , delighted
Mirthful – joyful, merry, gleeful, overjoyed, amusing
Wickedness – evil, malice, badness, being immoral
Inchcape float – means the buoy (floater)
Quoth – archaic word for quoted (said/spoke)
Row – oared to, sailed to, rowing by oars in waters
Plague – torture, torment, cause trouble, kill, destroy
Spring- season name
float- a thing that is buoyant in water
Spring- name of one of the seasons
float-a thing that is buoyant in water
Stanza 09 to 12
Meanings:
Sunk- past participle form of sink, submerged, go down
gurgling-bubbling, make a hallow sound
burst-apart suddenly and violently
Scour'd-(here) travelled freely, energetically for ships to rob
Plunder'd store-big amount of looted/robbed wealth
Steers- directs the course of the ship, guide
haze-thin mist, fog
hath-(an archaic word)has
gale- a very strong wind
Stanza no.13 to 17
Vocabulary
dawn-(here)moon will appear, the first appearance of light in the sky before sunrise
Canst-can, an archaic word for you can
breakers-(here) heavy sea waves
Methinks- it seems to me (archaic form of 'I think')
Swell- (here) Tide
drift- move slowly, be carried slowly by a current of air or water
Vessel- large boat, ship
Strikes-hits forcibly
tore- pulled hard
despair- frustration, absence of hope
beneath- under
dreadful- extremely bad or serious
Devil- the supreme spirit of evil, Satan, demon
Knell-the sound of a bell solemnly after death or at funeral announcement of death
Paraphrase – stanza 01-04
The atmosphere was calm and motionless. There was lack of movement in the air and in the sea. There was no force for the sails (cloth of the mast) from the sky. It made the ship and the base of the ship motionless in the ocean. The sea waves were flowing without any jolt and had a little rise and fall over the Inchcape rock that they hardly moved the Inchcape bell. Abbot of Aberbrothok had installed the bell on a floater at the Inchcape Rock in such a way that it floated and swayed on the waves during storms and warned the mariners. The mariners admired the Abbot of Aberbrothok because in the high waves they would know the hazardous rock by the warning sound of the bell which saved their lives.
Paraphrase – stanza 05-08
The sun was shining happily in the sky. All creatures on the earth were very happy on that day. Sea-birds seemed very joyful while chirping and encircling in the sky. In the widespread green ocean, the floater of the Inchcape Bell was looking like a dark spot. When Sir Ralph the Rover boarded on the ship, he gazed at that dark floater. He felt encouraging by the spring which made him whistle and sing. Even though his heart was filled up with joy, there was malice in his joy. When he saw the Inchcape floater, he ordered his men to leave the port escort him to the Inchcape Rock where he wished to trouble the Abbot of Aberbrothok.
Paraphrase – stanza 09-12
The boatmen lower the boat and sail to the Inchcape Rock. When they reach there, Sir Ralph bent down from the boat and cut the rope of the Bell from the Inchcape floater. The Bell sank down in the deep water with a gushing sound and bubbles rose up and burst around. Then Sir Ralph said that the next who would come to the rock would not praise the Abbot of Aberbrothok. Sir Ralph the Rover sailed away in search of ships for many days and looted valuables on them and became rich. Thereafter, he drove to Scotland's shore. A thick fog spreads everywhere in the sky so hardly they can see sun on high. The wind has flowed very heavily all day and stopped at evening.
Paraphrase – (Stanza 13 to 17)
Sir Ralph the Rover stands on the deck very confidently. It was so dark that no one was able to see any land nearby. Then, Sir Ralph said that there would soon be some light as the moon was about to rise. One of them asked if they could hear the sound of the waves because he thought that they should be near the coast. He added that he could not tell them where they were and hoped that he could hear the Inchcape Bell. The surge of waves is very high and they cannot hear any sound. Even though the wind has been very slow, they move forward towards till their ship crashes with a shaking jolt. Then one of them pleads Lord Christ and exclaims that it is the Inchcape Rock. Sir Ralph the Rover was totally frustrated and cursed himself in disappointment. The waves entered everywhere very fast and the ship starts to go down underneath the waters. While he was dying in the fear, the Rover could hear a horrible sound. The sound was the same like the Inchcape Bell when it was sinking down. It is as if the sound of the evil ringing a death toll for him. One who digs a ditch for others, fall in that very ditch someday.
Paraphrase- Prof. R.D.Dhumal, Junior College, Jaysingpur Dist. Kolhapur
Figures of Speech - (Stanza 01 to 04 )
1) No stir in the air, no stir in the sea
Repetition- The word 'no stir' is repeated.
Alliteration - The sound of letters 'n' & 's' are repeated.
2) The ship was still as she could be
Personification - The ship is personified.
Alliteration - The sound of letter ’sh’ is repeated.
3) Her sails from heaven received no motion
Alliteration- The sound of letter 'h' is repeated.
Personification - The ship is personified.
Inversion - The word order is changed. The correct order- Her sails received no motion from heaven.
4) Her keel was steady in the ocean.
Personification- The ship is personified.
5) So little they rose, so little they
Repetition- The word little is repeated.
Antithesis- rose and fell opposite
Anti-climax- ideas arranged in descending order
Personification- waves are personified
6) On a buoy in the storm it floated and swung
Inversion- the order of words changed for poetic effect.
Alliteration- sound of letter's' repeated
7)And over the waves its warning rung.
Alliteration= sound "w" is repeated
Personification- waves are personified
8) When the rock was hid by the surges swell
Alliteration- sound 's' repeated
Personification- the rock is personified
Figure of speech stanza 5 to 8
1) The sun in heaven was shining gay.
Inversion- order of words changed for poetic effect
2)The sea-birds scream'd as they wheel's around
Alliteration- sound of ;s; repeated
3) It made him whistle, it made him sing
Repitition- it made is repeated
Onomatopoeia- the word 'whistle' gives the feel of sound
Anaphora- It made him these words are repeated in the beginning of the line
Figure of speech stanza 9 to 12
1) The boat is lower'd, the boatmen row
Climax- words arranged in ascending order
Alliteration- sound 'b' repeated
2) And to the Inchcape Rock they go
Inversion- order of words changed for poetic effect
Alliteration- sound 't' repeated
3)Sir Ralph bent over from the boat.
Alliteration- sound 'b' repeated
4) And he cut the bell from the Inchcape float
Alliteration- sound 'f' repeated
5) Down sunk the bell with a gurgling sound
Onomatopoeia- gurgling word gives feel of the sound
6) The bubbles rose and burst around
Onomatopoeia- burst sound
Climax- ideas arranged in ascending order
Alliteration- 'b' sound repeated
7) He scour'd the seas for many a day
Alliteration- 's' sound repeated
Figure of speech stanza 13 to 17
1) On the deck the Rover takes his stand
Inversion- order of words changed
2) For there is a dawn of rising moon
Paradox- contradictory idea
3) 'Canst hear', said one,'breaker's row'?
Interrogation- question is asked
4) For me thinks we should be near the shore
Alliteration- sound of 's' repeated
5) Now where we are I cannot tell
Inversion- word order changed
Alliteration- 'w' sound repeated
6) Till the vessel strikes with a shivering shock
Transferred Epithet- adjective shivering is transferred from the vessel to shock
Alliteration- 's' sound rtepeated
Personification- the word 'shock' is personified
7) O Christ It is the Inchcape Rock!
Apostrophe- addressed directly to Christ
Exclamation- surprise statement
8) The waves rush in every side
Personification- waves are personified
9) But even in his dying fear
Transferred Epithet- adjective dying is transferred from human to fear
Personification- word fear is personified
10) A sound as if with the Inchcape Bell
Simile- direct comparison
Onomatopoeia- the word bell gives the feel of sound.
Very good , Sheela ma'am
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