Gulliver's Travels Jonathan Swift

G ulliver’s Travels recounts the story of Lemuel Gulliver, a practical-minded Englishman trained as a surgeon who takes to the seas when his business fails. In a deadpan first-person narrative that rarely shows any signs of self-reflection or deep emotional response, Gulliver narrates the adventures that befall him on these travels.Gulliver’s adventure in Lilliput begins when he wakes after his shipwreck to find himself bound by innumerable tiny threads and addressed by tiny captors who are in awe of him but fiercely protective of their kingdom. They are not afraid to use violence against Gulliver, though their arrows are little more than pinpricks. But overall, they are hospitable, risking famine in their land by feeding Gulliver, who consumes more food than a thousand Lilliputians combined could. Gulliver is taken into the capital city by a vast wagon the Lilliputians have specially built. He is presented to the emperor, who is entertained by Gulliver, just as Gulliver is flattered by the attention of royalty. Eventually Gulliver becomes a national resource, used by the army in its war against the people of Blefuscu, whom the Lilliputians hate for doctrinal differences concerning the proper way to crack eggs. But things change when Gulliver is convicted of treason for putting out a fire in the royal palace with his urine and is condemned to be shot in the eyes and starved to death. Gulliver escapes to Blefuscu, where he is able to repair a boat he finds and set sail for England.After staying in England with his wife and family for two months, Gulliver undertakes his next sea voyage, which takes him to a land of giants called Brobdingnag. Here, a field worker discovers him. The farmer initially treats him as little more than an animal, keeping him for amusement. The farmer eventually sells Gulliver to the queen, who makes him a courtly diversion and is entertained by his musical talents. Social life is easy for Gulliver after his discovery by the court, but not particularly enjoyable. Gulliver is often repulsed by the physicality of the Brobdingnagians, whose ordinary flaws are many times magnified by their huge size. Thus, when a couple of courtly ladies let him play on their naked bodies, he is not attracted to them but rather disgusted by their enormous skin pores and the sound of their torrential urination. He is generally startled by the ignorance of the people here—even the king knows nothing about politics. More unsettling findings in Brobdingnag come in the form of various animals of the realm that endanger his life. Even Brobdingnagian insects leave slimy trails on his food that make eating difficult. On a trip to the frontier, accompanying the royal couple, Gulliver leaves Brobdingnag when his cage is plucked up by an eagle and dropped into the sea.Next, Gulliver sets sail again and, after an attack by pirates, ends up in Laputa, where a floating island inhabited by theoreticians and academics oppresses the land below, called Balnibarbi. The scientific research undertaken in Laputa and in Balnibarbi seems totally inane and impractical, and its residents too appear wholly out of touch with reality. Taking a short side trip to Glubbdubdrib, Gulliver is able to witness the conjuring up of figures from history, such as Julius Caesar and other military leaders, whom he finds much less impressive than in books. After visiting the Luggnaggians and the Struldbrugs, the latter of which are senile immortals who prove that age does not bring wisdom, he is able to sail to Japan and from there back to England.Finally, on his fourth journey, Gulliver sets out as captain of a ship, but after the mutiny of his crew and a long confinement in his cabin, he arrives in an unknown land. This land is populated by Houyhnhnms, rational-thinking horses who rule, and by Yahoos, brutish humanlike creatures who serve the Houyhnhnms. Gulliver sets about learning their language, and when he can speak he narrates his voyages to them and explains the constitution of England. He is treated with great courtesy and kindness by the horses and is enlightened by his many conversations with them and by his exposure to their noble culture. He wants to stay with the Houyhnhnms, but his bared body reveals to the horses that he is very much like a Yahoo, and he is banished. Gulliver is grief-stricken but agrees to leave. He fashions a canoe and makes his way to a nearby island, where he is picked up by a Portuguese ship captain who treats him well, though Gulliver cannot help now seeing the captain—and all humans—as shamefully Yahoolike. Gulliver then concludes his narrative with a claim that the lands he has visited belong by rights to England, as her colonies, even though he questions the whole idea of colonialism.

The Way of the World William Congreve

Before the action of the play begins, the following events are assumed to have taken place.

Mirabell, a young man-about-town, apparently not a man of great wealth, has had an affair with Mrs. Fainall, the widowed daughter of Lady Wishfort. To protect her from scandal in the event of pregnancy, he has helped engineer her marriage to Mr. Fainall, a man whom he feels to be of sufficiently good reputation to constitute a respectable match, but not a man of such virtue that tricking him would be unfair. Fainall, for his part, married the young widow because he coveted her fortune to support his amour with Mrs. Marwood. In time, the liaison between Mirabell and Mrs. Fainall ended (although this is not explicitly stated), and Mirabell found himself in love with Millamant, the niece and ward of Lady Wish-fort, and the cousin of his former mistress.

There are, however, financial complications. Half of Millamant's fortune was under her own control, but the other half, 6,000 pounds, was controlled by Lady Wishfort, to be turned over to Millamant if she married a suitor approved by her aunt. Unfortunately, Mirabell had earlier offended Lady Wishfort; she had misinterpreted his flattery as love.

Mirabell, therefore, has contrived an elaborate scheme. He has arranged for a pretended uncle (his valet, Waitwell) to woo and win Lady Wishfort. Then Mirabell intends to reveal the actual status of the successful wooer and obtain her consent to his marriage to Millamant by rescuing her from this misalliance. Waitwell was to marry Foible, Lady Wishfort's maid, before the masquerade so that he might not decide to hold Lady Wishfort to her contract; Mirabell is too much a man of his time to trust anyone in matters of money or love. Millamant is aware of the plot, probably through Foible.

When the play opens, Mirabell is impatiently waiting to hear that Waitwell is married to Foible. During Mirabell's card game with Fainall, it becomes clear that the relations between the two men are strained. There are hints at the fact that Fainall has been twice duped by Mirabell: Mrs. Fainall is Mirabell's former mistress, and Mrs. Marwood, Fainall's mistress, is in love with Mirabell. In the meantime, although Millamant quite clearly intends to have Mirabell, she enjoys teasing him in his state of uncertainty.

Mirabell bids fair to succeed until, unfortunately, Mrs. Marwood overhears Mrs. Fainall and Foible discussing the scheme, as well as Mirabell and Mrs. Fainall's earlier love affair. Since Mrs. Marwood also overhears insulting comments about herself, she is vengeful and informs Fainall of the plot and the fact, which he suspected before, that his wife was once Mirabell's mistress. The two conspirators now have both motive and means for revenge. In the same afternoon, Millamant accepts Mirabell's proposal and rejects Sir Wilfull Witwoud, Lady Wishfort's candidate for her hand.

Fainall now dominates the action. He unmasks Sir Rowland, the false uncle, and blackmails Lady Wishfort with the threat of her daughter's disgrace. He demands that the balance of Millamant's fortune, now forfeit, be turned over to his sole control, as well as the unspent balance of Mrs. Fainall's fortune. In addition, he wants assurance that Lady Wishfort will not marry so that Mrs. Fainall is certain to be the heir.

This move of Fainall's is now countered; Millamant says that she will marry Sir Wilfull to save her own fortune. Fainall insists that he wants control of the rest of his wife's money and immediate management of Lady Wishfort's fortune. When Mirabell brings two servants to prove that Fainall and Mrs. Marwood were themselves guilty of adultery, Fainall ignores the accusation and points out that he will still create a scandal which would blacken the name of Mrs. Fainall unless he gets the money.

At this point, Mirabell triumphantly reveals his most successful ploy. Before Mrs. Fainall married Fainall, she and Mirabell had suspected the man's character, and she had appointed her lover trustee of her fortune. Fainall is left with no claim to make because Mrs. Fainall does not control her own money. He and Mrs. Marwood leave in great anger. Sir Wilfull steps aside as Millamant's suitor; Lady Wishfort forgives the servants and consents to the match of Mirabell and Millamant.

The Rape of the Lock by Alexander Pope

Belinda arises to prepare for the day’s social activities after sleeping late. Her guardian sylph, Ariel, warned her in a dream that some disaster will befall her, and promises to protect her to the best of his abilities. Belinda takes little notice of this oracle, however. After an elaborate ritual of dressing and primping, she travels on the Thames River to Hampton Court Palace, an ancient royal residence outside of London, where a group of wealthy young socialites are gathering for a party. Among them is the Baron, who has already made up his mind to steal a lock of Belinda’s hair. He has risen early to perform and elaborate set of prayers and sacrifices to promote success in this enterprise. When the partygoers arrive at the palace, they enjoy a tense game of cards, which Pope describes in mock-heroic terms as a battle. This is followed by a round of coffee. Then the Baron takes up a pair of scissors and manages, on the third try, to cut off the coveted lock of Belinda’s hair. Belinda is furious. Umbriel, a mischievous gnome, journeys down to the Cave of Spleen to procure a sack of sighs and a flask of tears which he then bestows on the heroine to fan the flames of her ire. Clarissa, who had aided the Baron in his crime, now urges Belinda to give up her anger in favor of good humor and good sense, moral qualities which will outlast her vanities. But Clarissa’s moralizing falls on deaf ears, and Belinda initiates a scuffle between the ladies and the gentlemen, in which she attempts to recover the severed curl. The lock is lost in the confusion of this mock battle, however; the poet consoles the bereft Belinda with the suggestion that it has been taken up into the heavens and immortalized as a constellation.

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

R obinson Crusoe is an Englishman from the town of York in the seventeenth century, the youngest son of a merchant of German origin. Encouraged by his father to study law, Crusoe expresses his wish to go to sea instead. His family is against Crusoe going out to sea, and his father explains that it is better to seek a modest, secure life for oneself. Initially, Robinson is committed to obeying his father, but he eventually succumbs to temptation and embarks on a ship bound for London with a friend. When a storm causes the near deaths of Crusoe and his friend, the friend is dissuaded from sea travel, but Crusoe still goes on to set himself up as merchant on a ship leaving London. This trip is financially successful, and Crusoe plans another, leaving his early profits in the care of a friendly widow. The second voyage does not prove as fortunate: the ship is seized by Moorish pirates, and Crusoe is enslaved to a potentate in the North African town of Sallee. While on a fishing expedition, he and a slave boy break free and sail down the African coast. A kindly Portuguese captain picks them up, buys the slave boy from Crusoe, and takes Crusoe to Brazil. In Brazil, Crusoe establishes himself as a plantation owner and soon becomes successful. Eager for slave labor and its economic advantages, he embarks on a slave-gathering expedition to West Africa but ends up shipwrecked off of the coast of Trinidad.

Crusoe soon learns he is the sole survivor of the expedition and seeks shelter and food for himself. He returns to the wreck’s remains twelve times to salvage guns, powder, food, and other items. Onshore, he finds goats he can graze for meat and builds himself a shelter. He erects a cross that he inscribes with the date of his arrival, September 1, 1659, and makes a notch every day in order never to lose track of time. He also keeps a journal of his household activities, noting his attempts to make candles, his lucky discovery of sprouting grain, and his construction of a cellar, among other events. In June 1660, he falls ill and hallucinates that an angel visits, warning him to repent. Drinking tobacco-steeped rum, Crusoe experiences a religious illumination and realizes that God has delivered him from his earlier sins. After recovering, Crusoe makes a survey of the area and discovers he is on an island. He finds a pleasant valley abounding in grapes, where he builds a shady retreat. Crusoe begins to feel more optimistic about being on the island, describing himself as its “king.” He trains a pet parrot, takes a goat as a pet, and develops skills in basket weaving, bread making, and pottery. He cuts down an enormous cedar tree and builds a huge canoe from its trunk, but he discovers that he cannot move it to the sea. After building a smaller boat, he rows around the island but nearly perishes when swept away by a powerful current. Reaching shore, he hears his parrot calling his name and is thankful for being saved once again. He spends several years in peace.

One day Crusoe is shocked to discover a man’s footprint on the beach. He first assumes the footprint is the devil’s, then decides it must belong to one of the cannibals said to live in the region. Terrified, he arms himself and remains on the lookout for cannibals. He also builds an underground cellar in which to herd his goats at night and devises a way to cook underground. One evening he hears gunshots, and the next day he is able to see a ship wrecked on his coast. It is empty when he arrives on the scene to investigate. Crusoe once again thanks Providence for having been saved. Soon afterward, Crusoe discovers that the shore has been strewn with human carnage, apparently the remains of a cannibal feast. He is alarmed and continues to be vigilant. Later Crusoe catches sight of thirty cannibals heading for shore with their victims. One of the victims is killed. Another one, waiting to be slaughtered, suddenly breaks free and runs toward Crusoe’s dwelling. Crusoe protects him, killing one of the pursuers and injuring the other, whom the victim finally kills. Well-armed, Crusoe defeats most of the cannibals onshore. The victim vows total submission to Crusoe in gratitude for his liberation. Crusoe names him Friday, to commemorate the day on which his life was saved, and takes him as his servant.

Finding Friday cheerful and intelligent, Crusoe teaches him some English words and some elementary Christian concepts. Friday, in turn, explains that the cannibals are divided into distinct nations and that they only eat their enemies. Friday also informs Crusoe that the cannibals saved the men from the shipwreck Crusoe witnessed earlier, and that those men, Spaniards, are living nearby. Friday expresses a longing to return to his people, and Crusoe is upset at the prospect of losing Friday. Crusoe then entertains the idea of making contact with the Spaniards, and Friday admits that he would rather die than lose Crusoe. The two build a boat to visit the cannibals’ land together. Before they have a chance to leave, they are surprised by the arrival of twenty-one cannibals in canoes. The cannibals are holding three victims, one of whom is in European dress. Friday and Crusoe kill most of the cannibals and release the European, a Spaniard. Friday is overjoyed to discover that another of the rescued victims is his father. The four men return to Crusoe’s dwelling for food and rest. Crusoe prepares to welcome them into his community permanently. He sends Friday’s father and the Spaniard out in a canoe to explore the nearby land.

Eight days later, the sight of an approaching English ship alarms Friday. Crusoe is suspicious. Friday and Crusoe watch as eleven men take three captives onshore in a boat. Nine of the men explore the land, leaving two to guard the captives. Friday and Crusoe overpower these men and release the captives, one of whom is the captain of the ship, which has been taken in a mutiny. Shouting to the remaining mutineers from different points, Friday and Crusoe confuse and tire the men by making them run from place to place. Eventually they confront the mutineers, telling them that all may escape with their lives except the ringleader. The men surrender. Crusoe and the captain pretend that the island is an imperial territory and that the governor has spared their lives in order to send them all to England to face justice. Keeping five men as hostages, Crusoe sends the other men out to seize the ship. When the ship is brought in, Crusoe nearly faints.

On December 19, 1686, Crusoe boards the ship to return to England. There, he finds his family is deceased except for two sisters. His widow friend has kept Crusoe’s money safe, and after traveling to Lisbon, Crusoe learns from the Portuguese captain that his plantations in Brazil have been highly profitable. He arranges to sell his Brazilian lands. Wary of sea travel, Crusoe attempts to return to England by land but is threatened by bad weather and wild animals in northern Spain. Finally arriving back in England, Crusoe receives word that the sale of his plantations has been completed and that he has made a considerable fortune. After donating a portion to the widow and his sisters, Crusoe is restless and considers returning to Brazil, but he is dissuaded by the thought that he would have to become Catholic. He marries, and his wife dies. Crusoe finally departs for the East Indies as a trader in 1694. He revisits his island, finding that the Spaniards are governing it well and that it has become a prosperous colony.

Beowulf

Beowulf was written during the 8th Century in England. During this time, society was slowly moving from paganism to Christianity, and that movement is evident in the poem. The original poem Beowulf was most likely entirely a pagan work. However, the Christian overlay that was added in later years now dominates the text. According to the rewritten poem that involves the Christian aspects, Beowulf would not have even survived the battles without the Lord's help. So therefore, the work is now a primarily Christian poem, with the Christian elements being extremely necessary to the poem's story. It is evident that the Christian ideas were merely inserted into the poem rather than a part of the original work, because they are often intertwined with pagan ideas. In addition, there are constant references to God, and how He assisted Beowulf in his endeavors, as well as numerous parallels that can be found between Beowulf and Jesus Christ.

Many of the Christian ideas are integrated into the text, among clearly pagan ideas. The most evident intertwining involves the idea of fate, as opposed to the idea of God's will. Many times throughout Beowulf, the author will reference fate, while speaking of God and other Christian ideas. For instance, Beowulf states, "As God's beacon brightened the East/I spied a cape across the calming seas/a wall to windward. So I was spared/for fate often favors an unmaked man/if he keeps his courage." (505-509). Another reference appears when Hrothgar attributes the success of Beowulf directly to Christ, but also the end of monsters and devils on Earth, which is a more pagan idea. In addition, when Beowulf battles the nine sea monsters in his youth, the text references both fate and God as the reason for his success. When he is battling the first of the monsters, he asks fate to help him find the heart of the beast, however he shortly thereafter asks the Lord for help in winning the battle. Although some ideas in the story are intermingled with pagan concepts, there are also many references to the Christian God that stand alone.

Throughout the poem, various references are made to the Christian God, and how he assisted Beowulf on his endeavors. The first reference comes in the very beginning of the poem when it is written that Scyld Scefing was sent an heir from God to "lighten all hearts" (13). From lines 146-163, the poem is solely about how those who do not trust in God will not survive in battles, nor will they experience happiness. The poem reads, "But happy is he who trusts in heaven/and lives to his last in the Lord's keeping" (162-163). Many references are also made to God's will and how the people must abide by it. When Beowulf is explaining how he is going to overcome Grendel, he explains, "Whomever death takes, his doom is doubtless/decreed by the Lord" (390-391). This statement explains how the people believed that when someone passed away their time was chosen by God. God's will is again is discussed on lines 610-612 when Beowulf says, "if he sees fit to fight without weapons/May God in His wisdom grant whom He wills/blessing in battle." That statement explains how Beowulf will fight without weapons in his battles against Grendel because the Lord will decide the outcome of the battle anyways. Beowulf also explains to his people that "Hrunting failed me, though finely fashioned/but God vouchsafed me" (1459-1460). Therefore, it was not the weapons or Beowulf's strength, but it was the protection of the Lord that saved him.

Finally, Beowulf's character shows many parallels to Jesus Christ, the son of God in Christian teaching. First of all, Beowulf empathizes with the Danes and understands their plight under the oppression of Grendel just as Jesus Christ was understanding and sympathetic to the Jews while they were persecuted. Just like the Jewish people in Jesus' time needed him as a Savior to free them from oppression, the Danes needed a hero in the form of Beowulf to save them. In addition, Beowulf and Grendel seem to be parallels of Jesus and Satan, exemplifying the age old Christian belief of good versus evil. Grendel is described as a descendant of Cain, who, in the Bible, killed his older brother Abel. When Beowulf immerses himself in the water in which Grendel lives, it mirrors the Christian rite of Baptism in which the water purifies and cleanses a person of evil. As Beowulf battles Grendel underwater, all of the Danes wait patiently for his return. However, upon the ninth hour, they give up hope and depart, with only Wiglaf remaining. The ninth hour in Christian thought, is the hour that Jesus Christ died on the cross. When he rises from the water, he has overcome evil and death, much like Christ's rising from the tomb. Upon Beowulf's death "twelve of his earls telling their tales" were left behind. This is reminiscent of the twelve apostles who were left behind to continue the work of Jesus and spread His word. When Beowulf is buried by the Geats, careful preparation is taken in making his tomb. This parallels the work that was put in to preparing the final resting place of Jesus.

The poem Beowulf was written during a dynamic time in English history. The movement from paganism to Christianity was in full swing, and is evident in the literature of the time. Beowulf was most likely a fully pagan work when it was first written, but the changing times urged editors and translators to insert a Christian overlay that now dominates the work. Without the Christian overtones, the poem would not function as it does. The numerous references to biblical ideas and the parallels between Beowulf and Jesus Christ are both equally important to the work in the form it appears in today.

The Dream of the Rood

The Dream of the Rood, one of the few surviving pieces of Anglo-Saxon literature, is a vital reference for the ambiguous culture of England's early ancestors. Argued as one of the oldest pieces of Old English Literature, The Dream of the Rood effectively embodies the blended culture, moral code, and religious values of its unknown author. In the poem the narrator recalls a vision he received in a dream, where he encounters the rood on which Christ was crucified. The rood's dictation, steeped with references to both Pagan and Christian culture, implies the subservient relationship he shared with Christ as that of a lord and thane. Furthermore, the crucifixion scene is metaphorically illustrated as a battle and elevates both Christ and the rood to the warrior status reminiscent of Anglo-Saxon heroes. This contradictory concept of Christ as a self-sacrificing victim, yet fearless warrior king, coupled with the conflicting references to Pagan and Christian culture demonstrate the blended perspective of the poem's author. Within the context of the poem, the clash between the newly emerging society of ecclesiastical ethics and Pagan tradition of heroism and warfare is evident.

The prominence of Pagan culture in The Dream of the Rood is most obviously demonstrated by the animistic characteristics of the rood, which is endowed with a living spirit. The personification of the rood is analogous to the beliefs of the ancient Celts, where nature was regarded as a living, feeling, and conscious entity. Furthermore, when the narrator first introduces the reader to the rood he describes it as though it were an idol, with it "entirely cased in gold; the beautiful gems stood/ at the corners of the earth" (6-8). The narrator later asserts that it is by "the means of the rood each soul/ who thinks to dwell with the Ruler/ must seek the kingdom from the earthy way/ I prayed to the three with a happy spirit then" (199-122). With these lines, the pious dreamer is sympathizing with Pagan tradition, signaling out the rood itself as an object of worship. He prays to the golden rood as an idol, initiating the rood's prophecy that it will be "honoured far and wide/ by men over the earth and all this glorious creation/ they will pray to this beacon" (81-83). These Pagan attributes highly contrast the overall Christian elements of the poem, where Christ is declared as the sole source of salvation for mankind.

Christ is depicted both as a warrior and king in The Dream of the Rood, substituting the traditional Christian concept of Christ as a passive redeemer of sins with the bravery of Germanic hero. The narrator regards the willing sacrifice of Christ's life as a triumph and embodies Christ with the courage, honor, and might of a traditional Anglo-Saxon king. While the rod explains that he could have easily "felled all the enemies" (38) for Christ, Christ instead willingly "ascended on the high gallows/ brave in the sight of many/ when he wanted to ransom mankind" (40-42). With this action Christ proves himself a heroic being, determined to carry out God's divine plan, even if it means losing his life in the process. Like all Anglo-Saxon heroes, Christ submits himself to the winds of fate and gains immorality. The rood, like a burial mound, becomes a symbol of Christ's triumph.

Throughout the poem there are strong suggestions of a lord/ thane relationship between Christ and the rood, where the rood is presented as a selfless retainer of Christ. The relationship is subtlety suggested when the dreamer witnesses the rood began to bleed on the right side as Christ had, implying the inseparable connection between lord and thane. This bond is later solidified when the rood and Christ are depicted in battle together and the rood obediently follows the desires of his lord, recalling that he did "not dare, against the word of the Lord/ bow or break, when I saw the/ corners of the earth tremble" (35-38). The act of the nails piercing Christ and literally fastening him to the rood serves as a subtle symbolic reference to the unbreakable loyalty of a thane to his lord. This lord/thane relationship is later expanded to the bond between the Christians and Christ, where in a kenning Christ's followers are referred to as "the Lord's thanes" (75). At the conclusion of the poem, the narrator himself accepts this lord/thane relationship with Christ. Just as the lords of ancient times presented thanes with treasures for their service, the poet regards this vision of the gold-enameled cross as a gift from God and is thus bound by the Anglo-Saxon code of conduct to serve Christ.

It is truly remarkable how a poem can so flawlessly embody two distinct cultures, or rather the transition point between them. The Dream of the Rood offers readers a glimpse into the distant past of England; a time where the Anglo-Saxon hierarchy and Pagan rituals fell into steady decline and a newer, more centralized faith captivated the eyes of the people. However, The Dream of the Rood is evidence of something much more significant within its stanzas. It affirms that the reverence for spirits, the bond between lord and thane, and glorification of the heroic character did not fall under the shadow of Christ's cross. Instead, these things persisted on: masked, obscured, shining in the luminance of wet ink.

The Seafarer

The speaker of "The Seafarer" announces that he can make a true song about himself and the suffering he has endured while traveling over the ocean in the middle of winter. He remembers terrible cold and loneliness, and hearing the sounds of seabirds instead of the mead hall. This life of hardship is one about which the comfortable "city dwellers" know nothing. They'll never understand his suffering, poor guy. The weather worsens as snow and hail fall. His spirit is troubled, urging him to endure the harsh conditions on the winter sea so that he can seek a faraway "foreign" homeland.

Ah, the arrival of spring should help, right? Wrong. It only provokes more wanderlust in the speaker. The cry of the cuckoo, a sign of warmer weather, makes our speaker feel downright down in the dumps. It tells him it's time for yet another journey. The Seafarer's spirit leaps out of his chest and soars all over the world, then returns to him unsatisfied.

He knows the world's riches will not last, since everyone dies and you can't take your possessions with you. Because it's only through the praise of the living after one's death that a person can hope to live forever, people should fight hard against the devil so their bravery will be remembered after their death. That way, they can live forever with the angels. Sweet deal.

The days of earthly glory are over, the speaker tells us, because the wealthy and powerful civilizations have fallen. The party's over, and the weak have inherited the earth. Glory and nobility have faded just like an aging person, whose body and senses fail. No matter how much we try to comfort the dead and ourselves with gold, it won't work because a sinful soul can't take his gold with him after death. He's painting quite the pretty picture, this seafarer guy.

So what's the takeaway point here? Our speaker tells us that it's important to fear God, who created the whole world, and before whom it stands still. Only a fool does not fear God: he will meet his death unprepared. In order to avoid this, a man has to live humbly, control his passions, keep his word, and be fair to both friends and enemies. A man should think about his earthly life, focus on the heavenly home that awaits him, and how to get there. In fact, our speaker suggests, we should all work hard to get to the eternal life, where joy awaits us, thank God, indeed.