Salt-Water Poems and Ballads

by John Masefield, Charles Pears (Illustrator)

.

Genres: Poetry

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1916

About the author

Masefield was born in Ledbury, a rural area in England to George Masefield, a solicitor and Caroline. His mother died giving birth to his sister when Masefield was only 6 and he went to live with his aunt. His father died soon after. After an unhappy education at the King's School in Warwick (now known as Warwick School), where he was a boarder between 1888 and 1891, he left to board the HMS Conway, both to train for a life at sea, and to break his addiction to reading, of which his Aunt thought little. He spent several years aboard this ship and found that he could spend much of his time reading and writing. It was aboard the Conway that Masefield’s love for story-telling grew.

In 1894, Masefield boarded the Gilcruix, destined for Chile. He recorded his experiences while sailing through the extreme weather. Upon reaching Chile, Masefield suffered from sunstroke and was hospitalized. He eventually returned home to England as a passenger aboard a steam ship.

In 1895, Masefield returned to sea on a windjammer destined for New York City. However, the urge to become a writer and the hopelessness of life as a sailor overtook him, and in New York, he deserted ship. He lived as a vagrant for several months, before returning to New York City, where he was able to find work as an assistant to a bar keeper.

For the next two years, Masefield was employed in a carpet factory, where long hours were expected and conditions were far from ideal. He purchased up to 20 books a week, and devoured both modern and classical literature. His interests at this time were diverse and his reading included works by Trilby, Dumas, Thomas Browne, Hazlitt, Dickens, Kipling, and R. L. Stevenson. Chaucer also became very important to him during this time, as well as poetry by Keats and Shelley.

When Masefield was 23, he met his future wife, Constance Crommelin, who was 35. Educated in classics and English Literature, and a mathematics teacher, Constance was a perfect match for Masefield despite the difference in age. The couple had two children (Judith, born in 1904, and Lewis, in 1910).

In 1930, due to the death of Robert Bridges, a new Poet Laureate was needed. King George V appointed Masefield, who remained in office until his death in 1967. Masefield took his appointment seriously and produced a large quantity of verse. Poems composed in his official capacity were sent to The Times. Masefield’s humility was shown by his inclusion of a stamped envelope with each submission so that his composition could be returned if it were found unacceptable for publication.

On 12 May 1967, John Masefield died, after having suffered through a spread of gangrene up his leg. According to his wishes, he was cremated and his ashes placed in Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey. Later, the following verse was discovered, written by Masefield, addressed to his ‘Heirs, Administrators, and Assigns’:

Let no religious rite be done or read
In any place for me when I am dead,
But burn my body into ash, and scatter
The ash in secret into running water,
Or on the windy down, and let none see;
And then thank God that there’s an end of me.

Reviews

[Karen Witzler · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I must 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 wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must 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 spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.”
― John Masefield, Sea Fever: Selected Poems

[Jacob · Rating 1 out of 5]

This week, I read “Salt-Water Poems and Ballads” by John Masefield. This book is a collection of poems and ballads that are completely separate from one another. They all have their own little storyline and their own set of characters. My favorite part of the book was a poem called “ The Wanderer.” It is about an amazingly magnificent ship, one of the most beautiful ships ever seen. These men on another ship see it set sail for the first time, and they compliment it on its beauty. Soon afterwards, they see it being towed back in, its sails a wreck. Soon, she is fixed and sets sail again, only to be brought back in again destroyed. I think this poem meant that it doesn’t matter how glamorous something is, what matters is the strength and courage inside of it. Although I looked at many websites and sources, I could not find any solid information that could tell me why John Masefield wrote this book. I think that the fact that this book was published in 1916 contributes to this since the book was written so long ago. It’s not like I can go ask John, either. He died in 1967, which was around the time when my mom and dad were born. I think that he might have written the poems as a way to record some of his experiences at sea, since John had gone on a few voyages on ships before he published his book. This book was very interesting to read.

After reading these poems, I realized that I had connected with many aspects of the the poems. The thing that I can relate to the most is the book’s underlying admiration for the sea. Throughout the book, I noticed that all the poems focused a lot on describing the glistening, deadly sea at some length. I, too, love the sea’s ominous look, the sweet salt air, and the way that the light dances across the tips of the playful, choppy waves. What I learned from the book was that you can make a lot out of something very small. All the poems were about ships, sailors, and the sea, but the author was still able to make each poem unique and special in its own way. Even though John Masefield had a limited knowledge to work with, he still was able to make each scenario in each ballad have its own special charm. Even though this book was very interesting to read and I learned a lot about ships and the sea, I would not recommend this book to anyone. It was too depressing to read. Every time I read some of the book, it put me in a slightly bad mood. Most of the poems were describing devastating shipwrecks and deaths. There were many descriptions of men falling from the rigging and drowning while screaming for help from their fellow sailors. The worst part was, when someone was drowning, the entire crew just sat and watched their comrade die. I like some blood and gore in the books I read, since it makes the storyline more exciting. This book takes it way too far, though. Reading this book, as I said before, was interesting, but it took a lot of willpower to finish it.

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few good ones but a fair bit of dross as well.