The Poem “The Inchcape Rock’ is about a real stretch of treacherous rocks near the Scottish coast. Robert Southey wrote prose and other poems too. But this poem is well-liked. The title gives the clue that the rock is a part of an interesting story.
The theme is about an Abbot and a pirate. The Abbot is concerned for his fellow humans and helps to save sailors. He put the Inchcape Bell on a buoy to warn ships day and night of the terrible Inchcape Rock, during storms. [According to records, warning bell was placed.]
But the Rover in a fit of madness, on a spring day, cut the bell just to trouble the Abbot.
Many months later, when the pirate was sailing towards Scotland, the weather was different. As the frightened sailors were caught in the dark stormy sea the pirate realised he had not troubled the Abbot but brought ruin for himself and his sailors.
The poem is a ballad. The story is told in stanzas of four lines, with aabb rhyme. The story is told in easy language. The poet uses many Old English words like ‘blest’, ‘Quoth’, and ‘canst’.
The poet begins with spring, a metaphor for the pleasant mood, with a calm sea, still air and the ship in quiet waters. Repetition emphasizes the gladness in the heart.
The mood changes from mischief to wickedness. When the mist blocks the sun, metaphor makes the story gloomy, suspenseful. The nightfall is the metaphor for the dark situation for the ship, its sailors. They finally meet a violent end. There is alliteration which adds to the beauty of the poem. The poem is a didactic one with a clear message – “When we try to trouble others, trouble first comes to the doer.”
The story has a moral and is useful even in these times.