Analysis of Cap'n Storm-Along
Alfred Noyes 1880 (Wolverhampton) – 1958 (Isle of Wight)
They are buffeting out in the bitter grey weather,
-Blow the man down, bullies, blow the man down!-
Sea-lark
singing to
Golden Feather
,
And burly blue waters all swelling aroun'.
There's
Thunderstone
butting ahead as they wallow,
With death in the mesh of their deep-sea trawl;
There's
Night-hawk
swooping by wild
Sea-swallow,
And old Cap'n Storm-along leading 'em all.
Bashing the seas to a welter of white,
Look at the fleet that he leads to the fight.
O, they're dancing like witches to open the ball;
And old Cap'n Storm-along's lord of 'em all.
Now, where have you seen such a bully old sailor?
His eyes are as blue as the scarf at his throat;
And he rolls on the bridge of his broad-beamed whaler,
In yellow sou'-wester and oilskin coat.
In trawler and drifter, in dinghy and dory,
Wherever he signals, they leap to his call;
They batter the seas to a lather of glory,
With old Cap'n Storm-along leading 'em all.
You'll find he's from Devon, the sailor I mean;
Look at his whaler now, shipping it green.
O, Fritz and his 'U'-boat must crab it and crawl
When old Cap'n Storm-along sails to the ball.
Ay, there is the skipper that knows how to scare 'em
-Blow the man down, bullies, blow the man down!-:
Look at the sea-wives he keeps in his harem,
Wicked young merry-maids, buxom and brown :
There's
Rosalind,
the sea-witch, and
Gipsy
so lissom,
All dancing like ducks in the teeth of the squall,
With a bright eye for Huns, and a Hotchkiss to kiss 'em;
For old Cap'n Storm-along's lord of 'em all.
Look at him, battering darkness to light!
Look at the fleet that he leads to the fight!
O, hearts that are mighty, in ships that are small,
Your old Cap'n Storm-along's king of us all.
Scheme | a B xxa bCbddCxxd e fFee agaghehe iiee j B xbCxxcjeje fFee |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101010010110 1011101011 11 101 1010 1 0101101101 1 1 10011110 1100111111 1 11 1011 110 01111011011 1001101011 1101111101 111011011001 0111111111 111111010110 11111101111 011101111110 010110011 010010010010 01011011111 110011010110 11111011011 11111001011 1111011011 11011111101 11111011101 111010111111 1011101011 11011110110 1011011001 1 100 0110 1 11 11011001101 1011110010111 1111111111 1111001011 1101111101 11111001111 1111111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,656 |
Words | 310 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 11 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 1, 13, 1, 4, 8, 4, 1, 1, 10, 4 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 117 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 28 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:38 min read
- 57 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Cap'n Storm-Along" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1139/cap%27n-storm-along>.
Discuss this Alfred Noyes poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In