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,
The waves flow’d over the Inchcape Rock;
So little they rose, so little they fell,
They did not move the Inchcape Bell.
The worthy Abbot of Aberbrothok
Had placed that bell on the Inchcape Rock;
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,
And blest the Abbot of Aberbrothok
The Sun in the heaven was shining gay,
All things were joyful on that day;
The sea-birds scream’d as they wheel’d round,
And there was joyaunce in their sound.
The buoy of the Inchcpe Bell was seen
A darker speck on the ocean green;
Sir Ralph the Rover walk’d his deck,
And fix’d his eye on the darker speck.
He felt the cheering power of spring,
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,
And row me to the Inchcape Rock,
And I’ll plague the Abbot of Aberbrothok.”
The boat is lower’d, the boatmen row,
And to the Inchcape Rock they go;
Sir Ralph bent over from the boat,
And he cut the bell from the Inchcape Float.
Down sank 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.”
Sir Ralph the Rover sail’d away,
He scour’d the seas for many a day;
And now grown rich with plunder’d store,
He steers his course for Scotland’s shore.
So thick a haze o’erspreads the sky,
They cannot see the sun on high;
The wind hath blown a gale all day,
At evening it hath died away.
On the deck the Rover takes his stand,
So dark it is they see no land.
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,
But I wish we could hear the Inchcape 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!”
Sir Ralph the Rover tore his hair,
He curst himself in his despair;
The waves rush in on every side,
The ship is sinking beneath the tide.
But even is his dying fear,
One dreadful sound could the Rover hear;
A sound as if with the Inchcape Bell,
The Devil below was ringing his knell.
Leave a guest comment (subject to review)
Comments
-
mr. brennan seared this poem into our young lives!
From guest Catherine Smyth (contact)
Mr. Brennan was the headmaster of St. Joseph's RC Primary School, Crown Dale, Norwood, South London in the early 1950's and this peom is a most vivid reminder of him. He read it (or could have been from memory) and it came alive! We heard the bell and Sir Ralph's cumuperance! Mr. Brennan was a magical headmaster who got over 90% of his pupils into grammar schools. Just reading the Inchcape Rock hurtles me back to then. Such a vivid poem; such a special man who gave educational opportunities to so many. -
takes me back to St. Joseph's, Crown Dale, South London and Mr. Brennan
From guest Catherine Smyth (contact)
At St. Joseph's School, Crown Dale, Norwood, South London in the early 1950's, we had a magical headmaster, Mr. Brennan, who demanded the best from his children and got over 90% of them through the 11+. We were in awe of him and loved him but this poem was HIS and, some 50 years later I can still hear him reading it to us. Because of Mr. Brennan, I will never forget 'the inchcape rock'. Magic to visit it again!! -
third verse
From guest felipe ott (contact)
I agree with the last guest. The version I knew read " the worthy Abbot of.." If fact, I learned this poem when I was very small and this was the only line I remembered, so that is what I typped in Google, looking for Southy's poem -
-
Thanks for the reminder
Sometimes we get it wrong but we do try to check carefully.
This poem has now been corrected thanks to two eagle eyed readers.
My apologies to guests Felippe Ott and Mike Telling and my thanks.
-
-
SUMMARY OF THE INCHCAPE ROCK BY ROBERT SOUTHY
From guest PAULAMI BHADRA (contact)
MOD MESSAGE
http://oldpoetry.com/board/topic/1492 -
Inchcape Rock
From guest Mike Telling (contact)
I thought that the first line of the third verse read - "The worthy Abbot of Aberbrothock....". I used to recite this poem to my grandmother off by heart (along with other poems)as I helped her wipe the dishes in my younger years in the sixties.
MOD MESSAGE
After consulting both "The Oxford Anthology of Great English Poetry" (OUP) and "The Poet's Way" (Longmans)I concur and have ammended the line referred to. -
From guest shirin (contact)
my favourite poem in school .. still leaves me with shiver when i read it .. -
Possible correction?
From guest Anil (contact)
From my recollection of the poem in school, the first line of the third verse was something like "The dear old Abbot of Aberbrothok" rather than just "The Abbot of Aberbrothok". I think the line as printed here doesn't scan correctly. -
Surprised to see no comments here for this famous piece.A hauntingly sad poem that I learned well at school, for in those days we had to memorize such things. Still as greater write today as it ever was...
-
Adding your comment:
