The Rock of Cloud by Herbert Trench
In Herbert Trench's poem, a galley stops in fog at sea after the crew hears a chanting voice. The speaker says he was once a Pilot who steered many ships, until one night his ship struck and sank, and he reached a rock of wings. There a beautiful Sea-Spirit rose from the water. She said she had chosen him from the sinking crews and offered him a deathless life beneath the seas. He thought of the woman who sleeps at home and refused her. She sank, and a white, everlasting smoke rose from the water and now wraps him in languor. He sees neither stars nor sea, yet does not rue his choice. He tells the crew to go back to the Deep, since he doubts they are men, and says he must steer by a star he cannot see. The crew row on, weeping, all night within earshot of the shores but never through the cloud.
By Herbert Trench · First published 1901 · Genre: Narrative poetry, Dramatic monologue, Sea poetry · 1,013 words
First lines
We heard a chanting in the fog / On the frore face of the sea, / And stay'd the galley like a log / To sound that mystery.
And men throng'd up into the bow / And hail'd the curling rack, / "_What demon or what spirit thou? _" / And the lone voice came back,
Similar titles
- King And Siren by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
- A Death Song by William Morris
- A Charmed Cup by Helen Gray Cone
- Oenone by W. E. Aytoun
Genres
- Narrative poetry — The poem tells a sequential story: a shipwreck, the pilot's survival on a rock of wings, his encounter with a sea spirit, her offer, his refusal, and her departure. The events unfold in order and are framed by the crew's rescue attempt.
- Dramatic monologue — Most of the poem is spoken in the first person by a single speaker, the lost Pilot, who answers an unseen crew in direct speech. The voice is characterized by its bitterness, guilt and fatigue, which the reader learns through what he says.
- Sea poetry — The setting is the open sea and its fog, galleys, sinking ships, waves, shores and deep abyss. The imagery of the sea as a realm of danger, mystery and the supernatural drives the poem.
- Mythological poetry — The Sea-Spirit, the Bull of Dawn, the sea-woman who calls souls and offers mountains and kingdoms, and the underwater realm reflect mythic figures and cosmic motifs drawn from ancient sea lore.
Tags
sea poetry · narrative poem · dramatic monologue · shipwreck · fog at sea · sea spirit · siren call · temptation · refusal of immortality · deathless life · fidelity · moral choice
What this Textopian page supports
The Rock of Cloud is listed on Textopian as a poem by Herbert Trench, dated 1901 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Herbert Trench
- Date: 1901 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Narrative poetry, Dramatic monologue, Sea poetry, Mythological poetry, Tragic poetry
- Length: 1,013 words
- Structure: 1 section, 24 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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