Old Ironsides
Old Ironsides
The poem “Old Ironsides” by Oliver Wendell Holmes was written to remember the US Naval ship the USS Constitution, nicknamed “Old Ironsides.” It also had another purpose of saving and preserving the battleship. It has a structure in which the first stanza is referencing the past, the second stanza the present, and the third stanza the future. This structure helps the reader to understand what is going on in the poem and grasp the tone and theme by allowing the reader to follow the ship’s history and present situation. The main theme of this poem is pride, and the tone is sentimental.
Holmes’s use of continuous personification of the ship, comparing it to a powerful female, really helped in relaying the prideful theme and sentimental tone. An example of this personification could be “Her deck, once red with heroes’ blood,” (Line 9). This sentence shows how Holmes respected the ship’s past, giving away the sentimental tone, and was proud of its accomplishments. Holmes also used metaphors to describe the ship’s prowess. “The meteor of the ocean air” (Line 7) compares the ship’s cannonballs to meteors, showing how powerful they were. The use of battle imagery in general lets the reader understand the prideful tone.
Holmes also used allusions to explain the situation of the ship and his feelings on it. “The harpies of the shore, shall pluck the eagle of the sea!” (Lines 15-16) is a reference to the Greek mythological creatures called Harpies that would pluck the bones of men bare. Holmes is using the harpies mention how the American people who didn’t respect the ship wanted to strip it of its metals for money. In lines 23 and 24, Holmes says to “give her to the god of storms,” meaning the Greek god Poseidon, god of the sea and storms. He ends the poem with these lines to reiterate that the ship is deserving of a “burial at sea” because of its impressive history. These allusions help show how proud of the ship Holmes was.
The poem “Old Ironsides” by Oliver Wendell Holmes was written to remember the US Naval ship the USS Constitution, nicknamed “Old Ironsides.” It also had another purpose of saving and preserving the battleship. It has a structure in which the first stanza is referencing the past, the second stanza the present, and the third stanza the future. This structure helps the reader to understand what is going on in the poem and grasp the tone and theme by allowing the reader to follow the ship’s history and present situation. The main theme of this poem is pride, and the tone is sentimental.
Holmes’s use of continuous personification of the ship, comparing it to a powerful female, really helped in relaying the prideful theme and sentimental tone. An example of this personification could be “Her deck, once red with heroes’ blood,” (Line 9). This sentence shows how Holmes respected the ship’s past, giving away the sentimental tone, and was proud of its accomplishments. Holmes also used metaphors to describe the ship’s prowess. “The meteor of the ocean air” (Line 7) compares the ship’s cannonballs to meteors, showing how powerful they were. The use of battle imagery in general lets the reader understand the prideful tone.
Holmes also used allusions to explain the situation of the ship and his feelings on it. “The harpies of the shore, shall pluck the eagle of the sea!” (Lines 15-16) is a reference to the Greek mythological creatures called Harpies that would pluck the bones of men bare. Holmes is using the harpies mention how the American people who didn’t respect the ship wanted to strip it of its metals for money. In lines 23 and 24, Holmes says to “give her to the god of storms,” meaning the Greek god Poseidon, god of the sea and storms. He ends the poem with these lines to reiterate that the ship is deserving of a “burial at sea” because of its impressive history. These allusions help show how proud of the ship Holmes was.