Storm at Sea (Poem) Essay

Storm at Sea Essay
Storm at Sea by Amar Qamar symbolizes life’s ups and downs. The poem is written to describe a ship being thrown around at sea, and sailors battling for their lives. The sailors’ struggles are meant as a metaphor stating that life will put you through hell at times so enjoy the good times while you can.
Amar’s aim in writing this poem is to communicate a message imposing that life is a rollercoaster. No matter how hard life gets a pot of gold is at the end of the rainbow- there is always something to look forward to. Every storm will eventually settle, and when it does take the benefit and enjoy it.
The persona of the poem begins by feeling as though the sailors are scared as they struggle and plead for help. After being battered around and having loss of sleep. With the change of weather comes a change in emotions for “the veteran sailors know the battle is over, and they have won”. The sailors have battled through and they rejoice in happiness.
The poem Storm at Sea is structured quite significantly, Amar Qamar wrote the poem in form of a ballad. Ballads typically tell stories; this is a story symbolizing a way of life. Throughout the poem several ellipses are used to add suspense to the poem, by shortened sentences. Within each stanza there is a change in events. At the start of the poem lots of chaos is going on, and by the end it becomes a calmer surrounding.
The language used within the poem is put into place to add a more appealing side to the poem. In my opinion the language Qamar’s uses is both relatable and effective. The poet does this in order to attract the audience’s attention, and add more descriptive detail to the scene. Through the poets use of language the roaring seas become alive, and is described as an enemy to the sailors.
Several techniques such as ellipsis’s, rhymes, and personification are used in the poem to create a more optimistic statement. All three of these techniques are used throughout the entire poem, each for different reasons. The poet uses ellipsis’s to add suspense to each stanza. Personification is put into place to make the ocean seem as though it’s alive with a mind of its own. A mind of its own and one that wants to destruct everything in its path. Finally the use of rhyming is thrown in the mix to not only to magnetize the audience, but also to help the poem flow and be easier to read.
A rhythmic pace has been put into this poem with Amar’s selective use of words. “Smashing waves…crashing seas…” these words influence a mental picture with loud waves smash and crash onto the deck of the ship. This rhythmic tempo adds a sense of movement to the poem, enables you to see a visual scene of the poem.
Several sound related techniques have been purposely put in place to structure this poem. The main technique found within the poem is the use of rhymes. Rhymes make the words more fluent, and give the poem character. An interesting character is always loved by people- the reader in this case. “Rocking and rolling” another technique used in the poem known as alliteration. The purpose of alliteration is to create a consistent pattern that catches the mind's eye and focuses attention. Alliteration makes the reader read faster, thereby adding a sense of speed and intensity to the poem.
Like many nature related poems Storm at sea has a meaningful significance to it. This poem is symbolic to the human way of life by stating that life wasn’t given with instructions. Each and every day were going to come across some sort of intricate problems. Up and down like a see- saw for years to come. Only you can make the best of your life.