The Inchcape Rock

Summary of The Inchcape Rock by Robert Southey

Inchcape Rock is a popular poem by Robert Southey about the Inchcape Rock Legend, a reef which is situated in the North Sea, close to the coastal region of Angus in Scotland. The Inchcape Rock is known for its infamy as causation for shipwreck. This poem by Robert Southey revolves around the famous folktale of an Abbot, a monk who placed a bell on the reef to issue warning to seamen and seafarers about the impending danger during storms. According to the folktale, whenever the bell used to ring, the seafarers used to bless the Abbot’s wisdom and thank him for saving them from danger. But a sea robber named Ralph cut down the bell to earn money and treasures from the ships that fatally crashed against the rock. However, a day came when Ralph’s vessel too encounters a storm and crashes against the rock. This is when he hears death bells ringing.

The poem Inchcape Rock is a ballad. It is a lengthy poem consisting of seventeen stanzas. The poet begins the poem with a calm tone describing the sea. To describe the calm state of the sea, the poet has used expression like ‘No stir in the air, no stir in the sea.’ The sea was calm and quiet and ships were sailing peacefully. No wind troubled the ships and her keel was firmly set in the ocean.

The second stanza describes the Inchcape Rock on which the waves are gently moving without making any impact on the Inchcape Bell. The waves are rising and falling without moving the Inchcape Bell.

The third stanza talks about the wise Abbot of Aberbrothok who had placed the bell on the Rock to prevent ships from getting shipwrecked during storms and gales. The bell was placed on a buoy. When a storm occurred, the buoy would float and in turn ring the bell which would provide a warning for seamen.

When the Rock was full of water by the strong waves during high tide, the bell would ring and warn the sailors against the Rock. The rock is termed as ‘perilous’ meaning dangerous by...