Class 7 :: English Literature :: The North Ship by Philip Larkin
The North Ship
by Philip Larkin
The Poem:
"I saw three ships go sailing by,
Over the sea, the lifting sea,
And the wind rose in the morning sky,
And one was rigged for a long journey.
The first ship turned towards the west,
Over the sea, the running sea,
And by the wind was all possessed
And carried to a rich country.
The second ship turned towards the east,
Over the sea, the quaking sea,
And the wind hunted it like a beast
To anchor in captivity.
The third ship drove towards the north,
Over the sea, the darkening sea,
But no breath of wind came forth,
And the decks shone frostily.
The northern sky rose high and black
Over the proud unfruitful sea,
East and west the ships came back
Happily of unhappy:
But the third went wide and far
Into an unforgiving sea
Under a fire-spilling star,
And it was rigged for a long journey."
The Summary of the Poem:
In the first para, the poet says of three ships which are floating on the sea. They are getting equipped to sail over the sea as soon as the wind rises in the morning.
The first ship turns towards the west direction over the running sea. It gets the favourable wind and tide to reach a rich country.
The second ship turns towards the east direction over the trembling sea. It gets caught by the wild wind like a beast surrounds its prey. It has nothing but to be anchored in captivity.
The third ship goes on towards the dark north. It has no breath of wind or favourable tide to proceed forward. It has got all the unfavourable things in its voyage along with its frostily shone decks.
The north sky rises with high and black cloud increasing the misfortune of the third ship. Both the ships from west and east return happily and unhappily because of the foreboding danger.
But the third ship goes on the hostile sea as an untiring and daring hero ignoring all the forthcoming adventures of the unforgiving sea under a fire-spilling star. It is rigged for long journey. It has more to go and more to explore.
COMPREHENSION
1. Answer the following questions.
a. Draw a table in your book like the one below. It is a good idea to draw the column headings and fill in you answers for the first row before moving on the next one. Your answers should be in note form but with enough detail for you to use them later on.
=
Ship | Where did it go? | What were the conditions at sea? | What happened to the ship? | Do you have any questions? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
First | ‘turned towards the west’ ‘to a rich country’ | Windy: ‘the running sea’, ‘wind’ Wild: ‘possessed’ by the wind | Came back from ‘a rich country’ ‘happily or unhappily’ | Which country? Happily? |
Second | ‘turned towards the east’ ‘to anchor in captivity’ | Windy: ‘the quaking sea’, ‘wind’ Wild: ‘wind hunted it like a beast’ | ‘anchor in captivity’ ‘happily or unhappily’ | How did it return if anchored and captivated? |
Third | ‘drove towards the north’ ‘for a long journey’ | Dark: ‘the darkening sea’, ‘no breath of wind came forth’ Hostile: ‘an unforgiving sea’, ‘under a fire-spilling star’ | ‘went wide and far’ ‘for a long journey’ | Where did it reach? Did it return ever? |
b. The wind seems to help the first ship because it 'carried' it to a rich country. What does the wind do to the second ship? How would you describe its actions?
= The second ship turns towards the east direction over the trembling sea. It gets caught by the wild wind like a beast surrounds its prey. It has nothing but to be anchored in captivity.
c. How is 'the north' described in the fourth and fifth stanzas? What impression does the description create?
= The north sky rises with high and black cloud increasing the misfortune of the third ship. Both the ships from west and east return happily and unhappily because of the foreboding danger.
But the third ship goes on the hostile sea as an untiring and daring hero ignoring all the forthcoming adventures of the unforgiving sea under a fire-spilling star. It is rigged for long journey. It has more to go and more to explore.