THE SEA

by Natividad Marquez

Why does the sea laugh, Mother,

As it glints beneath the sun?
It is thinking of the joys, my child,
That it wishes every one.

Why does the sea sob so, Mother,

As it breaks on the rocky shore?
It recalls the sorrows of the world.
And weeps forevermore.
Why is the sea so peaceful, Mother,
As if it were fast asleep?
It would give our tired hearts, dearest child,
The comfort of the deep.

BACKGROUND OF THE AUTHOR

Natividad Marquez, also known as Naty, was born on February 1901 in Lucena,
Tayabas, Philippines. She was a Lay Missionary, Writer, and an Educator. She
also worked at Roman Catholic Church. She was the daughter of Gregorio Lopez
Marquez and María Nicómedes Jurado. She died at the age of 54/55 at
Krishnagar, India.

FORMALISTIC APPROACH
Poetry as a literary form may be defined simply as a patterned expression of
ideas in concentrated or imaginative terms, usually (but not necessarily)
containing rhyme and a specific meter. In this poem, The Sea, its form is
structured because it has patterns that follows. This poem has 3 stanzas and
each stanza has four lines. There is a similarity or likeness of sound existing
between two words in the first two lines and last two lines of each stanza (sun
and one, shore and forevermore, and asleep and deep).
Example:
1 Why does the sea laugh, Mother,
As it glints beneath the sun?
2 It is thinking of the joys, my child,
That it wishes every one.

1 Why does the sea sob so, Mother,

As it breaks on the rocky shore?
2 It recalls the sorrows of the world.
And weeps forevermore.

1 Why is the sea so peaceful, Mother,

As if it were fast asleep?
2 It would give our tired hearts, dearest child,
The comfort of the deep.
This is an example of Lyric Poem for it expresses strong thoughts and feelings.
The poem has 2 speakers, the Mother and the Child. The speakers are having a
deep conversation. Since it is a conversation, we can picture out that while
reading this poem, the mother and her child are talking to each other while facing
a lovely view of a sea. The writer used figure of speech - personification.
Personification gives human characteristics and abilities to non-human objects,
things, and nature. Some words in the poem that show an idea of personification
are SEA LAUGH and SEA SOB. The writer also used figure of speech -
metaphor. A metaphor is used to make a comparison between two things that
aren't alike but do have something in common. The writer tries to compare the
actions of the sea to human feelings. The main topic of the poem is the sea as
compared to human and human’s emotion. The meaning of the poem can be
interpreted as sea's love, joy, and sorrow being similar to the mother's feelings.
Its theme talks about universal truth. This means that
FEMINISTIC APPROACH

By reading and comprehending the poem, we can easily determine that the writer
used the Mother and child relationship. The writer used the female representation
in the poem specifically the Mother. We can also interpret in the poem that the
writer pays attention to the point-of-view, concerns and values of the Mother.
Some lines of responses and values of the Mother that we can read in the poem
are “It is thinking of the joys, my child, That it wishes every one”, “It recalls the
sorrows of the world. And weeps forevermore” and “It would give our tired hearts,
dearest child, The comfort of the deep”. The writer also used a female
representation in the poem because as we all know, females are a good
representation of conveying values. I also think that the writer used the
representation of a Mother because in the past and as well in the present, the
Mothers are usually the ones who will take care of her child and the house hold
chores while the Fathers are the ones who will work and usually do not stay in
the house. In conclusion, this is the best time where the Mother and child can
build an open and realistic relationship.

MORALISTIC APPROACH

The writer of the story has not only considered the mother-child relationship but
also taken into account the values that we can learn from it. This poem can be
compared to our life, a life here on Earth. In our life, it is not always all about
happiness, joy, and satisfaction. Life will make us experience the bitterness of
life. Sadness, downfall, depression and any other term that opposites the positive
meaning of life. This poem is also a realization that every beginning has an
ending. This borrowed life of ours is just temporary. Let us learn on how to make
it fruitful and meaningful in order for us die without any regret.