Sea-Fever

by John Masefield
At age 13, John Masefield ran away from home to
work on a ship. He spent four years sailing all over
the world before he began his career as a writer.

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheels kick and the winds song and the white sails shrinking,
And a grey mist on the seas face and a grey dawn breaking.
I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume1 and the sea gulls crying.
I must go down to the seas again to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gulls way and the whales way where the winds like a whetted2
knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long tricks over.
1spume: foam or froth
2 whetted: sharpened

Reading Buckle Down 8th, 1995, p. 81.

1. Which of the following resource would be used to research the poets

life?
A legend
B folk tale
C biography
D myth
2. Which of the following phrases from the poem are examples of
alliteration?
F a star to steer her by
G the call of the running
tide
H a wild call and a clear
call
J where the winds like a
whetted knife
3. What is the rhyme scheme of this poem?
A AABB
B ABBA
C ABCB
D ABAC
4. Which of the following lines is an example of a personification?
F white clouds flying
G white sails shaking
H a laughing fellow- rover
J a grey mist on the seas face

5. Which word is a synonym for vagrant in line 9?

A
B
C
D

empty
begging
criminal
wandering

6. In the last stanza, the author compares the wind toF spray
G a knife
H a gypsy
J seagulls
7. Which type of text structure is spume and whetted at the bottom of the
poem?
A
B
C
D

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