The Seafarer Analysis Paper

“The Seafarer” is a lyric poem that shows a man isolated at sea. He feels lonely and trapped because he doesn’t experience life outside the sea. The meaning expressed in this poem is that if someone loves something, they will always find their way back to it no matter how hard it gets. It explains a strong relationship between a man and an unpredictable sea. But the man does nothing to revise it, so he lives through suffering, sorrow and pain, but is always brought back. The feelings that come across the man in this poem are unbearable. He feels as if the hardship is getting worse and worse as he drifts through the cold winter. The author portrays images such as “My feet were cast / In icy bands / bound with frost, / with frozen chains…” (8-10). This quote is showing that the harsh conditions are painful, but he still keeps up with them. “No man sheltered / On the quiet fairness of earth can feel / How wretched I was…” (13-14). The seafarer feels as if someone hasn’t experienced this life, they don’t know how hard it is being stuck at sea without being able to go back. He overcame these feelings for the weather each and every time for his passion at sea.

“I put myself back on the paths of the sea.” (30), “The time for journeys would come and my soul / Called me eagerly out.”(36-37). You can clearly see that his mind and soul are set on something and always put it back in place. The words “I put myself back” and “eagerly” convey that nothing is stopping his journey along the sea. As the poem moves forward, the Seafarer feels detachment from the city and how his soul forms its own satisfaction with the life he’s living. He describes “No passion for women, no worldly pleasures, / nothing, only the ocean’s heave” (45-46), that he has nothing but himself and the sea. “Orchards blossom”, “towns bloom”, “fields grow”, all of the wonderful lively things about earth and the city admonish the “willing mind.” Explaining that he just keeps reminding himself about all these great things that he won’t get to see. “And yet my heart wanders away / my soul roams with the sea.” (58-59). He can think about all the “worldly pleasures” but in reality, his soul will always roam with the sea. He describes all these images with him picturing life outside the sea but does nothing about it because he’s always brought back. The faith in god helps the soul in the Seafarer.

“The wealth / Of the world neither reaches Heaven nor remains.” (66-67). The Seafarer thinks that money can’t buy you happiness but heaven can set you in the right place. “Those powers have vanished”, “those pleasures are dead.” He takes everything on earth for granted because all he really cares about is his life at sea. “For a soul overflowing with sin, and nothing / Hidden on earth rises to Heaven.” (101-102). This quote is explaining that nothing on earth rises to heaven no matter how bad it is. For example, the dangers of the sea will never stop his soul from going back.

“Fate is stronger / And God mightier than any man’s mind / Our thoughts should turn to where our home is.” (115-117). The Seafarer has a strong feeling about the sea and believes that fate and God are stronger than any man’s mind because your soul will always lead you back to it. The word “home” is referring to heaven and feels accomplished when his soul and heaven are brought back to the sea. The Seafarer is brought through a journey that destroys him but his soul always takes him back to where he started, at the sea. He goes through stages where he wants to escape this pain but never really accomplishes it. He’s brought to happiness by God and Heaven. In the Seafarer, you’re left with this feeling that if you really love something you’ll always come back to no matter where it started and how hard it is.