Std.XII 2.3 The Inchcape Rock.

2.3 The Inchcape Rock

2.3 The Inchcape Rock

Title of the text:

Inchcape Rock is a legend, a reef which is situated in the North Sea, close to the coastal region of Angus in Scotland. The poem is based on the series of events that took place around the dangerous rocks of the east coast of Scotland.

Poet Robert Southey:

He was born in Bristol, England. He was a Poet Laureate of England from 1813 to 1843. Some of his short poems like ‘The Scholar’. ‘The Battle of Blenheim’, ‘Bishop Hatto’, ‘The Inchcape Rock’ etc. are very popular with the school children.

Theme of the poem:

The poem gives us a message that those who do wrong things will meet with due punishment. In short - "As you sow, so shall you reap".

Story depicted in the poem:

The poem begins on a calm note. The waves were flowing over the inchcape rock without any impact. The Abbot of Aberbrothok had placed a bell on the Inchcape Rocks to warn the sailor about the perilous rocks. When the sea pirate Ralph saw the bell he felt jealous of the Abbot's popularity. So he decided to cut the bell. He asked his men to sail him to the bell. He cut off the rope of the bell and the bell went down with a gurgling sound. The Ralph moved on and after plundering the Ships, was returning to his land. Suddenly the weather was getting worse. Thick haze covered the sky. A violent storm began to blow. Nothing was visible due to bad weather. But the Ralph was sure that the weather would soon improve. The Sailor wished they could hear the Inchcape Bell. But as it was already cut down, they didn’t hear any sound. At last the ship collided with the Inchacpe rock and drowned along with all his sailors. But even in his dying fear, one thing the Ralph could hear. It’s the sound of the gurgling bell. In fact it was the devil below who was ringing his knell.

Ice Breakers:

A) Word register related to marine life.

1) sailors             
2) fish                  
3) algae

4) crab                 
5) waves             
6) coast

7) ocean              
8) seashore         
9) species

10) salt water     
11) aquatic         
12) ship

13) icebergs        
14) sand              
15) reef

16) sea bird        
17) rock               
18) iceberg

19) shells            
20) islands          
21) coral beaches

B) The functions of a lighthouse.

1) to show the direction

2) to serve as navigational aids / tool.

3) to warn ships about danger in the sea areas.

4) to show  proper direction during the storm.

5) to guide the sailors to reach the coast.

6) help ships to find their way across the sea.

7) to tell ships that they are nearing the port.

8) It is metaphorically beacon light to all who are frustrated by failures

C) The various famous rocks in the world and the places.

1) Balancing Rock – (Mahabalipuram)

2) Rock of Gibraltar – (Strait of Gibraltar, Mediterranean Sea)

3) Plymouth Rock – (shore of Plymouth, harbour)

4) Ayer's Rock – Uluru (Australia)

5) Black stone-Mecca (Saudi Arabia)

6) Split Apple Rock-(New Zealand)

7) Old Harry Rock-(England)

8) Balancing Rock-(Canada)

9) Wave Rock – (USA)

10) Nanya Rock- (Taiwan)