Of an anxious watch, perched in the bow As it dashed under cliffs. My feet were cast In icy bands, bound with frost, Wit
The excerpt is from 'The Seafarer,' an Old English poem that describes the difficult and isolating life of a sailor. The speaker recounts the experience of being on a ship, feeling anxious and exposed as the vessel moves under towering cliffs. The imagery of feet bound in icy bands and frozen chains conveys the physical hardship and emotional burden of seafaring. The poem uses vivid language to evoke the harshness of the sea and the loneliness of the sailor's journey. Themes of exile and the struggle against nature are central, reflecting the broader existential and spiritual concerns of the time.
| Word | In English | Plain (English) | Pron. |
|---|---|---|---|
| anxious | worried | feeling nervous or uneasy | angk-shus |
| perched | sitting | sitting or resting in a high place | purcht |
| bow | front | the front part of a ship | bau |
| dashed | moved quickly | moved suddenly and quickly | dasht |
| cliffs | high rocks | steep, high rocks or edges | klifs |
| cast | thrown | thrown or placed | kast |
| icy | very cold | extremely cold, covered with ice | ai-see |
| bands | straps | strips or loops used to bind | bandz |
| bound | tied | tied or fastened | baund |
| frost | ice | a thin layer of ice | frost |
| frozen | turned to ice | turned into ice, very cold | fro-zen |
| chains | links | connected metal links | chainz |
| hardship | difficulty | severe suffering or difficulty | hard-ship |
| groaned | moaned | made a low sound of pain or discomfort | grohnd |
The poem 'The Seafarer' is part of Old English literature, which includes poetry and prose written in Old English in early medieval England. This period is often termed Anglo-Saxon England, spanning from the 7th century to the decades after the Norman Conquest of 1066.
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