The Inchcape Rock By Robert Southey | THE INCHCAPE ROCK

By Robert Southey
The Inchcape Rock
Introducing the author
Robert Southey (12 August 1774 - 21 March 1843) was an English Romantic poet and Poet
Laureate from 1813 to his death in 1843. He is a prolific letter writer, literary scholar, essay
writer, historian and biographer.

Unit-1
The Text

No stir in the air, no stir in the sea,

The ship was still as she could be,

Her sails from heaven received no motion,

Her keel was steady in the ocean.

Without either sign or sound of their shock 5

The waves flowed over the Inchcape Rock;

So little they rose, so little they fell,

They did not move the Inchcape Bell.

The Abbot of Aberbrothok

Had placed that bell on the Inchcape Rock; 10

On a buoy in the storm it floated and swung,

And over the waves its warning rung.

When the Rock was hid by the surge's swell,

The mariners heard the warning bell;

And then they knew the perilous Rock, 15

And blessed the Abbot of Aberbrothok.

Ans: The poet describes that the Inchcape Rock was a few inches high above the surface of the
sea in low tide and was completely covered by the sea in high tide or when the sea was rough.

2. Was the Inchcape Rock dangerous ? Give your reasons ?

Ans: The Inchcape Rock was quite dangerous, because during sunny days the huge stone
could be easily noticed, but it was completely covered by the sea in a high tide or when the sea
swelled. As a result, many ships had been wrecked.

3. Why did the Abbot place a bell on the Inchcape Rock ?

Ans: The Abbot placed a bell on the Inchcape Rock to warn the sailors of the presence of this
fatal rock nearby.

4. When did the Inchcape bell ring ?

Ans: The Inchcape bell rang during a storm or when the sea swelled.

5. Why did mariners bless the Abbot ?

Ans: Mariners blessed the Abbot because he saved many imminent ship-wrecks during the
storm by placing a bell on the perilous Inchcape Rock. In other words, humanitarian deeds gave
them strength where nature was inhospitable.

Unit-2
Warm up

Wicked people get pleasure by causing pain to others, don't they? Read the following unit of the
text and note how a wicked person like Sir Ralph the Rover does mischief out of malice towards
the Abbot:

The Text
The sun in heaven was shining gay,

All things were joyful on that day;

The sea-birds screamed as they wheeled round

And there was joyance in their sound, 20

The buoy of the Inchcape Bell was seen

Sir Ralph the Rover walked his deck,

And he fixed his eye on the darker speck.

He felt the cheering power of spring; 25

It made him whistle, it made him sing;

His heart was mirthful to excess.

But the Rover's mirth was wickedness.

His eye was on the Inchcape float;

Quoth he, 'My men, put out the boat, 30

And row me to the Inchcape Rock,

And I'll plague the Abbot of Aberbrothok'

The boat is lowered, the boatmen row,

And to the Inchcape Rock they go;

Sir Ralph bent over from the boat, 35

And he cut the Bell from the Inchcape float.

Down sunk the Bell with a gurgling sound;

The bubbles rose and burst around;

Quoth Sir Ralph, 'The next who comes to the Rock

Won't bless the Abbot of Aberbrothok.' 40

Question Answer
1. How does the poet express 'the cheering power of spring' ?

Ans: The poet expresses the cheering power of spring in terms of bright sun, screaming birds
and joy in their sounds merriment was in the air.
2. How did Ralph come across the Inchcape Bell ?

Ans: Ralph came across the Inchcape Bell by walking his deck and focusing his attention on it
when spring set in and it surfaced on the calm sea.

3. What was the effect of 'the cheering power of spring' on Ralph ?

Ans: The cheering power of spring made Ralph whistle and sing, and filled his heart with great
delight.

4. What kind of a person was Ralph ? Which line tells you so ?

Ans: Ralph was a wicked person to the backbone. The line His heart was mirthful to excess'
tells us so.

5. What act of wickedness did he do ?

Ans: He committed a wicked deed by cutting the bell that the Abbot of Aberbrothok had placed
on the dangerous Inchcape Rock.

6. Why did he do the wicked act ?

Ans: He did the wicked act because the sailors would not bless the Abbot of Aberbrothok.

Unit-3
Warm up

Do you know sin always recoils on the sinner? Read the following unit of the text and note how
Sir Ralph the Rover pays for the sins he has committed:

The Text
Sir Ralph the Rover sailed away,

He scoured the seas for many a day;

And now grown rich with plundered store

He steers his course for Scotland's shore.

So thick a haze o'erspreads the sky 45

They cannot see the sun on high;

At evening it hath died away

On the deck the Rover takes his stand.

So dark it is they see no land. 50

Quoth Sir Ralph, 'It will be lighter soon,

For there is the dawn of the rising moon.'

'Canst hear', said one 'the breakers roar?

For methinks we should be near the shore'

'Now where we are I cannot tell, 55

But I wish I could hear the Inchape Bell'.

They hear no sound; the swell is strong;

Though the wind hath fallen they drift along,

Till the vessel strikes with a shivering shock -

'Oh Christ! it is the Inchcape Rock'. 60

Sir Ralph the Rover tore his hair,

He cursed himself in his despair;

The waves rush in on every side;

The ship is sinking beneath the tide.

But even in his dying fear 65

One dreadful sound could the Rover hear,

A sound as if with the Inchcape Bell

The Devil below was ringing his knell.

Ans: Ralph became rich by plundering the ships that met with wrecks.

2. Why did the ship lose its way in the sea while it was heading towards Scotland?

Ans: The ship lost its way in the sea while it was heading towards Scotland because of a dense
fog and a strong gale. Besides, it was nearing night time.

3. Why did a mariner think that they were near the shore ?

Ans: A mariner thought that they were near the shore.

4. "Oh Christ ! it is the Inchcape Rock' - why did the mariners exclaim so ?

Ans: The mariners exclaimed in their stale hopelessness. To their stunned disbelief, they feel
the presence of the dangerous Inchcape Rock and consequently think of their imminent death.
In Christ, they see their saviour.

5. Why did Sir Ralph curse himself ?

Ans: Sir Ralph cursed himself, because he realized that his notorious act of cutting the bell to
tarnish the image of the Abbot of Aberbrothok paved the way for the sinking of his own ship in
the roaring waves of the sea

6. The Devil below was ringing his knell.' - what does this expression mean ?

Ans: The expression 'The devil below was his nail' means the death of the notorious Ralph the
Rover. Even as he was dying he could hear one fearful sound as if it was the warning sound of
the Inchcape bell. It was as if the devil was ringing the sound of its disaster.

7. Do you find this poem musical ? The rhyme scheme of the first stanza is AABB (sea-A, be-A,
motion-B, ocean-B). Is the rhyme scheme the same for all the stanzas?

Ans: We find this poem completely musical. The poet's profuse use of alliteration - "S'
sea/ship/still and so on justifies this fact. The rhyme scheme is the same for all the stanzas.