This is a modern-English version of The Wreck of the Hesperus, originally written by Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth.
It has been thoroughly updated, including changes to sentence structure, words, spelling,
and grammar—to ensure clarity for contemporary readers, while preserving the original spirit and nuance. If
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THE
WRECK OF THE HESPERUS
HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW
ILLUSTRATED
New York
1889
INTRODUCTION.
"Norman's Woe" is the picturesque name of a rocky headland, reef, and islet on the coast of Massachusetts, between Gloucester and Magnolia. The special disaster in which the name originated had long been lost from memory when the poet Longfellow chose the spot as a background for his description of the "Wreck of the Hesperus," and gave it an association that it will scarcely lose while the English language endures. Nor does it matter to the legend lover that the ill-fated schooner was not "gored" by the "cruel rocks" just at this point, but nearer to the Gloucester coast.
"Norman's Woe" is the scenic name for a rocky headland, reef, and islet on the coast of Massachusetts, located between Gloucester and Magnolia. The specific disaster that inspired the name had been forgotten for a while when the poet Longfellow selected this location as the setting for his poem "Wreck of the Hesperus," giving it a lasting significance that will likely endure as long as the English language exists. It doesn't really matter to fans of the legend that the doomed schooner wasn't actually "gored" by the "cruel rocks" right here, but closer to the Gloucester coast.
The poet has done many things well; and he has done few things better than this ballad in the quaint, old-time style, with its nervous energy and sonorous rhythm, wherein one hears the trampling of waves and crashing of timbers. Indeed, it is so well done, by art concealing art, that much of its force and beauty escape the careless reader; whereas, the thoughtful one finds in it an ever-increasing charm. It is worth noting that love, the usual ballad motif, is absent and is not missed. The almost human struggles and sufferings of the vessel, and the contrast between the daring, scornful skipper, and the gentle, devout maiden, in the midst of the terrors of storm and wreck, furnish abundant emotion and imagery; in truth, many of the lines are literally packed with color, movement, and meaning.
The poet has accomplished many things well, and few are better than this ballad in a charming, old-fashioned style, with its energetic tone and rich rhythm, where you can almost hear the waves crashing and the timbers breaking. It's so skillfully crafted, with art hidden within art, that a lot of its power and beauty go unnoticed by a casual reader; however, a thoughtful reader discovers an ever-growing appeal. It's interesting to point out that love, a common theme in ballads, is missing and isn't missed at all. The almost human struggles and suffering of the ship, along with the contrast between the bold, dismissive captain and the tender, devoted maiden amidst the fears of the storm and shipwreck, provide plenty of emotion and imagery; in fact, many of the lines are truly filled with color, movement, and meaning.
ILLUSTRATIONS
H. WINTHROP PIERCE,
EDMUND H. GARRETT,
J.D. WOODWARD,
W.F. HALSALL,
W.L. TAYLOR,
A. BUHLER,
H.P. BARNES,
A.J. LEWIS.
GEORGE T. ANDREW.
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It was the schooner Hesperus It was the Hesperus schooner. That sailed the wintry sea; That crossed the chilly sea; And the skipper had taken his little daughter And the captain had taken his young daughter To bear him company. To keep him company. |
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Blue were her eyes as the fairy-flax, Blue were her eyes as the fairy-flax, Her cheeks like the dawn of day, Her cheeks are like the morning light, And her bosom white as the hawthorn buds And her chest was as white as hawthorn buds. That ope in the month of May. That opened in the month of May. The skipper he stood beside the helm, The skipper stood next to the helm, His pipe was in his mouth, His pipe was in his mouth, And he watched how the veering flaw did blow And he watched how the shifting flaw blew The smoke now west, now south. The smoke is now to the west, now to the south. |
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Then up and spake an old sailor, Then an old sailor spoke up, Had sailed to the Spanish Main, Had sailed to the Spanish Main, "I pray thee, put into yonder port, "I beg you, dock in that harbor, For I fear a hurricane. For I fear a hurricane. |
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"Last night the moon had a golden ring, "Last night, the moon had a golden ring, And to-night no moon we see!" And tonight we don't see any moon! The skipper he blew a whiff from his pipe, The captain took a puff from his pipe, And a scornful laugh laughed he. And he let out a mocking laugh. Colder and louder blew the wind, Colder and louder blew the wind, A gale from the north-east; A northeast wind; The snow fell hissing in the brine, The snow fell silently in the saltwater, And the billows frothed like yeast. And the waves foamed like yeast. |
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Down came the storm, and smote amain Down came the storm and struck hard. The vessel in its strength; The ship in its power; She shuddered and paused, like a frighted steed, She shuddered and paused, like a startled horse, Then leaped her cable's length. Then jumped her cable's length. |
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"Come hither! come hither, my little daughter, "Come here! come here, my little daughter, And do not tremble so; And don't shake so; For I can weather the roughest gale, For I can handle the toughest storm, That ever wind did blow." That wind always blew. He wrapped her warm in his seaman's coat, He wrapped her up warmly in his sailor's coat, Against the stinging blast; Against the cold wind; He cut a rope from a broken spar, He cut a piece of rope from a damaged spar, And bound her to the mast. And tied her to the mast. |
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"O father! I hear the church-bells ring; "O father! I hear the church bells ringing; O say, what may it be?"— O say, what could it be? "'Tis a fog-bell on a rock-bound coast!"— "'Tis a fog bell on a rocky coast!"— And he steered for the open sea. And he headed towards the open sea. "O father! I hear the sound of guns; "O father! I hear the sound of guns; O say, what may it be?"— O say, what could it be? "Some ship in distress, that cannot live "Some ship in trouble, that can't survive In such an angry sea!" In such a turbulent sea! |
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"O father! I see a gleaming light; "O dad! I see a shining light; O say, what may it be?" O say, what could it be? But the father answered never a word,— But the father didn't say a thing,— A frozen corpse was he. He was a frozen corpse. Lashed to the helm, all stiff and stark. Lashed to the steering wheel, all rigid and unmoving. With his face turned to the skies. With his face turned to the sky. The lantern gleamed through the gleaming snow The lantern shone through the bright snow On his fixed and glassy eyes. On his unchanging and lifeless eyes. |
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Then the maiden clasped her hands and prayed Then the young woman clasped her hands and prayed. That savéd she might be; That she might be saved; And she thought of Christ, who stilled the wave, And she thought about Christ, who calmed the storm, On the Lake of Galilee. On the Sea of Galilee. |
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And fast through the midnight dark and drear, And quickly through the dark and gloomy midnight, Through the whistling sleet and snow, Through the whistling sleet and snow, Like a sheeted ghost, the vessel swept Like a ghost wrapped in sheets, the ship glided Towards the reef of Norman's Woe. Towards the reef of Norman's Woe. And ever the fitful gusts between, And always the unpredictable winds in between, A sound came from the land; A sound came from the land; It was the sound of the trampling surf, It was the sound of the crashing waves, On the rocks and the hard sea-sand, On the rocks and the tough beach sand, The breakers were right beneath her bows, The waves were right beneath her bow, She drifted a dreary wreck, She drifted like a wreck, And a whooping billow swept the crew And a huge wave hit the crew Like icicles from her deck. Like icicles hanging from her deck. |
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She struck where the white and fleecy waves She hit where the white, fluffy waves Looked soft as carded wool; Looked soft like carded wool; But the cruel rocks, they gored her side But the harsh rocks, they pierced her side Like the horns of an angry bull. Like the horns of an angry bull. Her rattling shrouds, all sheathed in ice, Her shaking covers, all wrapped in ice, With the masts went by the board; With the masts thrown overboard; Like a vessel of glass, she strove and sank, Like a glass vessel, she struggled and went under, Ho! ho! the breakers roared. Ho! ho! the waves crashed. |
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At daybreak, on the bleak sea-beach, At dawn, on the desolate beach, A fisherman stood aghast, A fisherman stood in shock, To see the form of a maiden fair, To see the shape of a beautiful girl, Lashed close to a drifting mast. Lashed tightly to a drifting mast. The salt sea was frozen on her breast, The salty sea was frozen on her chest, The salt tears in her eyes; The salty tears in her eyes; And he saw her hair, like the brown sea-weed, And he saw her hair, like brown seaweed, On the billows fall and rise. On the waves, they fall and rise. Such was the wreck of the Hesperus, Such was the wreck of the Hesperus, In the midnight and the snow! In the midnight and the snow! Christ save us all from a death like this, Christ, save us all from a death like this. On the reef of Norman's Woe! On the reef of Norman's Woe! |
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