Bermudas

1. Bermudas Andrew Marvell – 17th Century

2. Possible meaning • Battle at the Bermudas – a response to Waller’s poem, where a sailor led an expedition into the Bermuda Triangle and was shipwrecked • Travelling across the sea in treacherous waters, fearing what will happen • Song about paradise and faith; trusting in religion over wealth – how some acts will change things forever • How the sailors are leaving something behind; where they are going is worth leaving their homeland even though they may not know what this new land will be like • Flight 19 where 6 planes “disappeared” in the Bermuda Triangle • Bible stories from the Old Testament about delivering God’s followers to the promised land and about spreading God’s word

3. Themes • Trust – in God and in their strength as a crew; comradeship • Religion – there are lots of references to God and religion; it seems to be very important for the sailors • Time – the sailors are voyaging, trying to keep motivated while trying to reach somewhere; the age-old attempt to try and reach paradise transcends time • Freedom – the sailors are trying to escape from England to reach paradise; reference to the puritan regime in 17th Century of Oliver Cromwell

4. Structure • Octosyllabic lines – predictability, rhythmic for the rowing boat, continuation of effort through storm // also timing of a dance (1,2,3 etc.) which implies happiness and joy • Arranged in iambic tetrameter rhyming couplets – two oars work together, traditional rhythm shows how things are cyclic and the danger of the storm will pass eventually and they will be able to reach the new land • Could be split into 4-line stanzas, like a ballad – like a song/hymn in praise of God, a mystical/magical sense showing how everything leads into each other, everything is important to God and how religion is spiritual, that they have to trust in Him.

5. A song within the poem – taking over poem; don’t want to think about where they are in their journey and they want to spend their time praising God as they have nothing else to do • Capitalization for respect – religious reference, respecting God as religion was very important (especially during Puritan regime circa. 17th Century) • Punctuation at the end of each “stanza” – end-stopping - separate days of the journey, motivational as it is separated, never wallowing on one day’s failure, there will always be another chance • 40 lines to the poem – while the literal meaning of the poem is for the human race to reach paradise, there is a hidden story about delivering God’s followers to the promised land; the Insraelites. These people took 40 days (according to the Bible) to reach Israel

6. Form • Lyrical poem – provokes ideas of freedom, expressing feelings of desperation at storm but also trust in God and feelings of hope for the future that everything will be okay. It also hides true feelings underneath the religious song – could be scared • Two “stories” in one poem; that of reaching paradise but also delivering God’s followers to the promised land creates an idea that God is behind every decision; transcending time etc.

7. Language • “the remote Bermudas ride” – shows that the Bermudas are far away, isolated and nearly impossible to get to. The personification “ride” shows that their position is changing; the idea of what paradise is changes // also is a normal verb at the time for where it is; context is 17th Century • “in the ocean’s bosom unespied” – the islands haven't been seen by anyone; they are rowing into the dark, they don’t quite know where they are going but they have to trust! // the ocean’s “bosom” is somewhere to protect, showing that the islands will be defended to avoid just anyone reaching them; the voyage there will be treacherous • “wat’ry maze” – the seas around the Bermudas being treacherous, impossible to come out of // wanting to escape the Bermudas but can’t get through the maze // the water is naturally against them; inevitable obstacle but unavoidable to get to paradise

8. “list’ning winds” – the wind is listening, but do not do anything to help; the sailors have to trust in God to help them overcome the weather as human kind cannot control the elements. They are trusting God to have this power // it is implied also that the wind is heaven, that God is listening to their praising • “and yet far kinder than our own?” – rhetorical Q as they don’t know that it will be any better that their homeland // collective pronoun shows the togetherness of the crew; the new land will be new for everyone

9. “where He the huge sea-monsters wrack” – the sea-monsters are whales which are usually peaceful but God has destroyed them so that they don’t harm the crew // also reads that God is the sea-monsters, destroying the crew’s chances and wrecking their voyage • “safe from the storms, and prelate’s rage” – safe from the storm, protected from the dignitary (bishops etc.) as they would be angry that they are leaving their land and reaching paradise // the phrase could also be read that the storm is angry too, that mere mortals are managing to get through nature’s defences of paradise • “eternal spring” – God gave them the hopeful season to live with, they will always be hopeful that they will land safely and ignoring that conditions and chances may be bleak; ignorance for the sailors

10. “enamels everything” – the hope that God has given them makes them not think of what they are doing; the hope blinds them • “and sends the fowls to us in care” – reference to the Book of Exodus, where God sent quails and manna to the Israelites; God has sent help to the sailors to keep them from suffering but they are able to survive with the most simple food because they trust in God • “like golden lamps in a green night” – similie showing that God’s protection is golden, bright and shining in a night that may be dominated by nature and its effects on the boat in the storm – like the fire that led Moses // The colours make the emotions more vivid and creates images of the stormy journey in contrast to the new and beautiful land they are going to.

11. “jewels more rich than Ormus shows” – in reference to the fruit (pomegranates) that they are precious and valued and will be enjoyed in the new land. They are even more prized than the wealth in Ormus – a rich Middle Eastern port • “but apples plant at such a price” – reference to the Book of Genesis; the forbidden fruit idea which relates by saying that apples are not planted because they are not valued, not wanted because they are forbidden, which is strange as in England apples are eaten regularly. Also, some have said “apples” may mean “pineapples” which would suggest a different meaning but imply a similar idea; that pineapples are not worth growing

12. “no tree could ever bear them twice” – continues the fruit idea but also is a reference to forgiveness; that people try their hardest not to repeat a sin, promising God, because otherwise they would go to hell, giving a more negative and depressing tone than a forgiving one • “with cedars…From Lebanon” – cedars are the tree of Lebanon, a religious and diverse community; they are the most renowned natural monument on Earth; they live eternally and have infinite wisdom // cedars were used to build Solomon’s temple in the Old Testament and would be the basis of the new-found religion in the Bermudas

13. “makes the hollow seas, that roar” – the personification creates the stormy idea, that the seas are angry. The seas are also unemotional and dis-attached from human emotion at the same time, which creates an idea that God cannot control it, only coerce the seas, suggesting that it is nature that defends paradise; it is not “heaven” as that would be God’s responsibility • “ambergris on the shore” – ambergris is a precious substance from sperm whales collected for perfume therefore prized. The seas have “proclaimed” it, using the ambergris as an offering to no longer batter the shore.

14. “of which we rather boast” – this is in brackets; possible change of tone as gives a negative connotation to being religious and following God’s word but the sailors would want to be proud of their Lord for helping them in reaching this paradise • “the Gospel’s pearl” – metaphoric of the best part of the Gospel (pearls are very expensive!), giving people on the new land the knowledge to worship the Lord // Pearls were also thought to be abundant in the Bermudas, implying that there would already be a religion there, but Christianity is best!

15. “oh let our voice His praise exalt” – the sailors want to praise the Lord and make him eternal (“exalt”). The collective pronoun gives the impression of collectivism, that their voice will be heard by God • “till it arrive at Heaven’s vault” – they will keep on praising until it gets to Heaven and heard, and would be kept in the “vault”, somewhere where valuables are kept. The metaphor shows how God is responsible for keeping all of Heaven’s valuables together and keeping all his supporters together

16. “echo beyond the Mexique Bay!” – since they are in the Bermudas, it is trying to show that God’s praise will spread even past the Gulf of Mexico. The exclamation shows their excitement about spreading God’s word – the Gospel referred to earlier • “thus sung they, in the English boat” – referring back to present, that they remain in a storm. The tone is depressing, pitiful and the adjective “English” contrasts to the beautiful new land that they hope to get to, but still suggesting they are foreigners travelling towards an unknown place

17. “an holy and cheerful note” – there is an ironic tone; that they are not cheerful in reality but make it seem like they are by singing holy songs. They also may not want God to know that they don’t like being in the situation they are in; the voyage may not be worth spreading the Gospel • “to guide their chime” – they need help to keep motivated, something to keep them singing and making music; this may be the incentive of reaching the new land but also the repetitiveness of rowing is motivating • “with falling oars they kept their time.” – the oars could be a metaphor for their praise; that their faith keeps them alive and motivated

18. Links to other poems • Pride theme – Scotland Small? They both have similar ideas on being proud of something (Bermudas= religion while Scotland Small? = patriotic) but the tone is different; this poem has a trusting, positive tone while Scotland Small has a defensive tone, that the poet wishes to change people’s opinion forcifully • Form and structure – Mushrooms. Though Bermudas is very strict on structure though rhyme and punctuation and Mushrooms more abrupt and irregular, both have a very clear rhythm, both showing how continued actions are transcending time, continuing to have an effect; the two poems are motivational. They also have similar line endings; Mushrooms has mainly end-stopped lines, much like Bermudas, which creates the rhythm

19. Journey idea – Interruption to a Journey. Both poems use ballad form to tell a story; Bermudas that of sailors travelling to paradise, ITAJ about an emotional journey. The ballad form hidden in Bermudas also shows the magical quality of finally being able to reach paradise while ITAJ creates a more spiritual tone to show the emotional development of the speaker (s) • Vivid imagery – How the Mountains drip with Sunset. Both use lots of literary devices to create imagery; Bermudas to create the image of paradise and HTMDWS the beauty of the sunset. Both therefore create the sense that the beauty is attainable; anything is possible which adds to the sailors hope in Bermudas and the mystical air in HTMDWS that magical things happen at sunset