Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
The buoy of the Inchcape 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.
(The Inchcape Rock: Robert Southey)
(i) Contrast the weather when Sir Ralph the Rover passed the Inchcape Rock the first time with the weather when he returned to the place.
(ii) Why had the Abbot of Aberbrothok hung a bell on the Inchcape Rock?
(iii) Why did Sir Ralph cut the bell from the Inchcape Rock? Describe the manner in which it sank underwater.
(iv) What did Sir Ralph say to reassure his men when it became very dark? What opinion did one of the sailors have about their location? What did they all wish for?
(v) How did the ship sink? What sound did Sir Ralph imagine he could hear in his dying moments? What is the message of the poem?
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(i)
- The air was still/ the sea was calm/ the sun was shining brightly
- A thick fog (haze) covered the surroundings / it was dark / the sun could not be seen / the whole day strong winds had been blowing / the storm died down by the evening.
(ii) When the sea was calm the waves flowed gently and did not move the bell. / When there was a storm the bell floated and rang / warned the sailors of the presence of the Inchcape Rock. / When the rock was hidden by the waves the Mariners heard the warning bell / they knew then the location of the dangerous rock /and were saved from crashing into it.
(iii)
- Sir Ralph was jealous of the Abbot’s popularity. / He wanted to undo the good deed done by him. / He said, “The next who comes to the rock, will not bless the Abbot.”
- The bell sank with a gurgling sound.
- The bubbles rose and burst around.
(iv)
- Sir Ralph told them that there would be light soon/ because the moon was going to rise.
- The sailor thought they were near the shore
- They wished they could hear the Inchcape Bell
(v)
- The ship struck against the Inchcape Rock and sank
- Sir Ralph could hear the dreadful sound of the ringing of the Inchcape bell / as if the Devil was ringing his funeral bell
- As you sow, so shall you reap./ Punishment follows a criminal act.