The Mysterious Journey of Columbus
Read the poem "Columbus" by Joaquin Miller
Columbus
Behind him lay the gray Azores,
Behind the Gates of Hercules;
Before him not the ghost of shores,
Before him only shoreless seas.
The good mate said: “Now must we pray,
For lo! the very stars are gone.
Brave Admiral, speak, what shall I say?”
“Why, say, ‘Sail on! sail on! and on!’”
“My men grow mutinous day by day;
My men grow ghastly wan and weak.”
The stout mate thought of home; a spray
Of salt wave washed his swarthy cheek.
“What shall I say, brave Admiral, say,
If we sight naught but seas at dawn?”
“Why, you shall say at break of day,
‘Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!’”
They sailed and sailed, as winds might blow,
Until at last the blanched mate said:
“Why, now not even God would know
Should I and all my men fall dead.
These very winds forget their way,
For God from these dread seas is gone.
Now speak, brave Admiral, speak and say”—
He said: “Sail on! sail on! and on!”
They sailed. They sailed. Then spake the mate:
“This mad sea shows his teeth to-night.
He curls his lip, he lies in wait,
With lifted teeth, as if to bite!
Brave Admiral, say but one good word:
What shall we do when hope is gone?”
The words leapt like a leaping sword:
“Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!”
Then, pale and worn, he kept his deck,
And peered through darkness. Ah, that night
Of all dark nights! And then a speck—
A light! A light! A light! A light!
It grew, a starlit flag unfurled!
It grew to be Time’s burst of dawn.
He gained a world; he gave that world
Its grandest lesson: “On! sail on!”
Read this line from the first stanza of the poem.
How does the poet's use of the words "shoreless seas" affect the poem?
Question 2 options:
It suggests the vast, unknown seas that Columbus strikes out on and gives the poem a foreboding tone.
It conveys an image of a wide expanse of ocean and gives the poem a carefree tone.
It suggests the gentleness of the ocean waves and gives the poem a peaceful tone.
It suggests the endless seas that Columbus must cross before reaching a destination and gives the poem an anxious tone.
What is tone?
It is the feeling that the poem conveys.
It is the immersive feature of a text.
The poem wants to show the reader how Columbus' voyages were unpredictable, difficult, and mysterious, as the sea was completely unpredictable to be handled and could be very violent and dangerous.
At the same time, due to the inaccuracy of the maps, Columbus was not sure where the sea would take him and this made the journey dark and mysterious.
Read this line from the first stanza of the poem.
How does the poet's use of the words "shoreless seas" affect the poem?
The use of the expression "shoreless seas" affects the poem by suggesting the vast, uncharted seas on which Columbus ventures and gives the poem a foreboding tone.