Sea-Fever Trivia Quiz

Answer:

A few definitions:
The term 'tall ship' refers to a square rigger or, more generally, to any sailing ship. Traditionally, a single- or double-masted vessel is called a boat, while one with three or more masts is referred to as a ship.

'Spray' is created when the wind flings up water from the waves, in anything from droplets to sheets, while 'spume' is the term for the foam on the crest of a wave.

'The running tide' refers to the tidal action of the sea when it is coming in to shore or, in this case, going out and can carry a vessel with it.

The phrase 'the gull's way and the whale's way' is reminiscent of the Old English kenning 'the whale road', the gull's way being the sky over the open ocean and the whale's way, the ocean itself.

A 'yarn' is a tale, often a fanciful one.

The term 'trick' signifies a turn at the helm, i.e. as steersman, or a sea journey.

About the poem:
"Sea-Fever" was originally published in 1902 in Masefield's first volume of poetry, "Salt-Water Ballads". It also appeared in various collections of Masefield's poems and is frequently anthologized.

The poem has been set to music by numerous composers, perhaps the best-known setting being by English composer John Ireland (August 13, 1879 to June 12, 1962).

About the poet:
The English poet and children's author John Edward Masefield was born on June 1, 1878 in Ledbury, Herefordshire. Left an orphan at the age of six, he came into the guardianship of an aunt who sent him to the King's School in Warwick (now, the Warwick School) before deciding In 1891 he should train for a life in the Royal Navy.

Despite the busy and difficult life of an apprentice seaman, the young Masefield still found time to pursue his love of reading and, despite his youth, he earned a reputation as a storyteller. At the age of seventeen, he jumped ship in New York, where he was a vagrant for a time before finding employment at a carpet factory in Yonkers. He did not return to England until 1897. During his time in America, Masefield discovered a love for poetry. When he returned to England, it was to take up the life of a writer.

Success did not elude him long, coming in 1899 with the publication of his poem "Nicias Moriturus" in the June 3 issue of the British magazine "The Outlook". Though in later years he concentrated mostly on children's fiction, Masefield remained a life long advocate for poetry, founding or heading several organizations promoting the art. In 1930, he became Poet Laureate, holding the post longer than anyone except Alfred, Lord Tennyson. John Masefield died of an infection on May 12, 1967, in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. On June 20, 1967, he was interred in the Poet's Corner in Westminster Abbey, in a grave adjacent to that of Robert Browning.

About the cover photo
The cover photo shows "Watching the Breaker - A High Sea", an oil painting by the American artist Winslow Homer, created in the U.S. state of Maine in 1896.