The Wreck of the Deutschland: Stanza 16 - Summary

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Summary

      The sight woman drowning promoted one of the sailor to come to her rescue. Though the sailor himself was secure while clinging to the rope but the cruel waves didn’t show any mercy and dashed this courageous man against the bulwarks instantly killing him. The power of his muscles was of no value. His dead body could be seen swinging and dangling over the foamy waters of the sea in air. The sailor was “helpless victim in the face of such powerful storms.”

Line by Line Analysis

Lines 1-4: One stirred.....blow: One brave man who was holding safely a rope tried to save a drowning woman and he went down to save her but the waves were too cruel to this and suddenly ducked him against bulwark killing him instantaneously. ‘Wild woman’ means woman going wild in panic. ‘Bulwarks’ refer to the ship’s side above the deck.

Lines 5-6: For all his.....and fro: Though the young was brawny and courageous with his muscle-power but it was of no use. He was killed instantly and his dead body was seen dangling in the air.

Lines 7-8: Through the cobbled.....flood of the wave: One could clearly see the deadbody dangling over the foamy waters of the sea. Cobbled means paved with stones. But this power couldn't match against the power of the waves. ‘Fountains of air’—waves rising in air.

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