and helps the reader feel the cold wind blowing. The similes and metaphors seen in "Sea Fever" are easily recognized, but their meanings and implications may be viewed as anything but shallow or irrelevant to the poetic style of Masefield. One example of a metaphor is in line nine when the speaker compares "the vagrant gypsy life" to the ocean. "Sea Fever" is dominated by implied metaphors comparing the speakers life to the sea. For example, the word "trick" in line ten implies that the speaker's life has been like a sea voyage. The complex metaphors increase the emotional tone of "Sea Fever" and help the reader relate to the speaker's passion for the sea. Through the use of figures of speech such as personification, simile and metaphor, the poem is enhanced by further development of the theme and the imagery. From the intensity of the speakers feelings, two themes are created that complement each other. First, a theme of longing for freedom and an adventurous ocean is developed. Although not the only theme, it is very recognizable and easily found after the initial reading of the poem. For example, this yearning for the sea can easily be seen in the refrain "I must go down to the seas again". The title "Sea Fever", shows the speakers hunger for an adventurous and free life. This hunger for life is also seen through references to the freedom of a sea gull and a whale in line ten. Equally important, Masefield uses strong metaphors to create a theme of life resembling a sea voyage. In line twelve, the speakers asks for a "quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over". The speaker is implying that life is a long sea journey and is requesting a peaceful afterlife. These two themes work together to convey the speakers passionate feelings for the sea and help the reader to further understand the sea's importance to the speaker. "Sea Fever" uses meter, imagery, and figures of speech so effectively that the reader is brought to the...
