Mad March Days: Decode

 

How much mystery can you get into one line of poetry?

 

Here’s a go a the first line of the poem in my previous post. Incidentally, it’s called ‘Cargoes’, is about progress and was written by John Masefield, who was poet laureate in the UK from 1930 until his death in 1967. By all accounts, a very interesting and pleasant man. He went to war (WW1) as a medic, wrote ‘Galllipoli’ (as well as a few fine poems), received honourary doctorates from Yale and Harvard, and kept goats and bees. 

 

Quinquereme - a boat powered by lots of oars – the rhythm of oars is the  rhythm of the first verse. The rhythm of a diesel engine chugging is the rhythm of the last verse. Try it.

Nineveh (also Ninua) –  an “exceeding great city”, as it is called in the Book of Jonah, lay on the eastern bank of the Tigris in ancient Assyria, near the modern-day major city of Mosul, Iraq which lies across the river.  Ophir – a generic name for a place of fantastic wealth, mentioned in the Christian Bible. Fans of H. Rider Haggard may remember it as the location of King Soloman’s mines. 

Tags: cargoes, masefield, ninevah, ophir, poetry, quinquereme