Analysis of The Wreck of the Steamer Storm Queen
William Topaz McGonagall 1825 – 1902 (Greyfriars Parish, Edinburgh)
Ye landsmen, all pray list to me,
While I relate a terrible tale of the sea,
Concerning the screw steamer "Storm Queen"
Which was wrecked, alas! a most heast-rending scene.
From Sebastopol, with a cargo of grain, she was on her way,
And soon after entering the Bay of Biscay,
On the 21st of December, they experienced a fearful storm
Such as they never experienced since they were born.
The merciless sea was running mountains high,
And to save themselves from a watery grave manfully they did try;
But the vessel became unmanageable, but still they worked away,
And managed to launch two small boats without dismay.
They wrought most manfully and behaved very well,
But a big wave smashed a smell boat before they left the vessel;
Still the Captain, Mr Jaques, and five of the crew
Clung to the "Storm Queen" until she sank beneath the waters blue.
While the sea lashed itself into white foam and loudly did roar,
And with a gurgling sound the big waves covered the vessel o'er;
So perished Captain Jaques and five of the crew
Who stuck to the vessel, as brave sailors would do.
But before the vessel sank a raft was made,
And a few men got on to it who were not afraid;
And oh! it was enough to make one's blood to freeze
To see them jumping off the steamer into the yawning seas.
So they were tossed about on the big billows the whole night,
And beneath the big waves they were engulphed before daylight;
But 22 that reached the boats were saved in all
By the aid of God, on whom they did call.
And on the next morning before daylight
The Norwegian barque "Gulvare" hove in sight;
Then they shouted and pulled towards her with all their might,
While the seas were running high, oh! what a fearful sight.
The poor souls were prevented from getting along side
Of the barque "Gulvare" by the heavy seas and tide;
And as the boats drew near the barque the storm increases
Until the boats struck against her and were dashed to pieces.
It was almost beyond human efforts with the storm to cope
But most fortunately they were hauled on board by a rope,
While the big waves did lash the barque all over,
But by a merciful providence they were landed safely at Dover.
The survivors when rescued were in a destitute state,
But nevertheless they seemed resigned to their fate,
And they thanked God that did them save
Most timely from a cold and watery grave.
And during their stay in Dover they received kind treatment,
For which they, poor creatures, felt very content;
And when they recovered from their ills they met at sea,
The authorities sent them home to their own country.
But as for Captain Jaques, few men like him had been,
Because he couldn't be persuaded to desert the "Storm Queen,"
As he declared he wouldn't leave her whatever did betide;
So the brave hero sank with her beneath the waters wide.
Scheme | AABB CXXX DDCC XXEE XFEE GGHH IIJJ IIII KKLL MMFF NNOO XXAA XBKK |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (62%) |
Metre | 1111111 110101001101 010011011 11101011101 111011111101 01101000111 1011010101000101 1111001001101 01001110101 01101101001100111 10100101000111101 010111110101 111100001101 101110110111010 101010101101 110110111010101 101101011101011 01010010111001010 11010101101 111010111011 10101010111 0011111110101 011101111111 111101010010101 11010110110011 001011101011 111010101 1011111111 010110011 01011101 1110010101111 1010101110101 0110010110011 10111010101 0101110101010 01011010001110 11101101010111 11100010111101 10111101110 110100100101010110 0010110000101 10011101111 01111111 11010101001 01011010101110 11111011010 0110101111111 0010011111110 111101111111 011101010110011 11011101010101 10110110010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic heptameter |
Characters | 2,772 |
Words | 514 |
Sentences | 17 |
Stanzas | 13 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 52 |
Letters per line (avg) | 43 |
Words per line (avg) | 10 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 171 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 39 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:35 min read
- 34 Views
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"The Wreck of the Steamer Storm Queen" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/41955/the-wreck-of-the-steamer-storm-queen>.
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