Page 20 - 100 Best Loved Poems - Teaching Unit
P. 20
“Sir Patrick Spens”
by Anonymous, pages 2-4
Vocabulary
skipper – captain
faem – same
hame – home
fetch – return
alack – an exclamation denoting sorrow
league – a distance of about 3.0 miles
lang – long
1. In what point of view is the poem written? Who is the narrator?
The poem is written in the third-person, limited omniscient point of view. The narrator is an
unnamed third person who is observing the events and dialogue presented.
2. In the fifth stanza, Sir Patrick Spens is moved to tears as he reads a letter requesting his help.
What causes this display of emotion?
Sir Patrick Spens realizes he must help the King of Norway rescue his daughter, as he is a man
of honor and duty. However, he regrets he must leave at that time, as the sea is at its most
difficult, and he knows he may not survive.
3. What modern-day saying does the line “Be it wind, be it weet, be it hail, be it sleet, Our ship
must sail the faem” sound like?
Answers may vary. Example: The United States Postal Service unofficially adopted a similar
slogan, “Be it wind, rain, sleet or snow, the mail will be delivered.”
4. What happens to the ship in section II?
The ship encounters a fierce storm and is sunk.
5. At the end of the poem, Sir Patrick Spens is said to be laying fifty-fathoms deep. What is he
doing there?
On his way home, Sir Patrick Spens and his sailors are overtaken by a powerful storm and
drown. Many will wait for the sailors’ return for a long time, never knowing that they rest at
the bottom of the ocean. Sir Patrick Spens has died in the shipwreck, and so his body is at the
bottom of the ocean.
6. A ballad generally consists of quatrains with the following metrical scheme: the first and third
lines have four accented syllables, while the second and fourth have three accented syllables.
What is the metrical scheme of this poem? Does it fit the standard form of the ballad?
Answers may vary, but students should be able to effectively analyze a quatrain of the poem in
order to show how it successfully adheres to the ballad structure.
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