Charlotte Smith, 'Written Near a Port on a Dark Evening' 1
Key context on 'the Sublime':
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The buoyancy of hope and awe seeps into the final sestet, carrying the speaker forward in their enlightenment, before slowly creeping away in the last two lines.
Overview
comprised of: gloomy unrest, which moves to a sense of awe
‘Repercussive roar’ ‘rugged’ ‘remote’ - ‘r’ sound is harsh like the setting by the harbour. (Literally and spiritually unstable). - Inner turmoil is reflecting back at the poet
The poem describes an ocean at night, this vast and disorienting setting represents life's uncertainties metaphorically.
‘Distant tone’ and ‘deep voice alone’ replicates his thoughts: loads and loud, he’s the lonely deep voice however despite all the background noise, he’s alone. The voice reminds him of his own isolation.
Languid terms
"but the lucid line"
Phosphorescent light images
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'Ocean settles, dark and mute' - ocean is unresponsive --> isolation of speaker and silence of harbour. Variation of sound from 'dark and mute' --> 'repercussive roar' --> 'drowsy billows' - mimics the actions of waves swaying.
Soft and calming sounds, lull someone to sleep
"light surf", "lights faintly shine", "fairy fires"
Fire and fairies = enlightening
Ending
Rhyming couplet seals up meaning and affirms the changed spirit
Poetic form
Sonnet - 14 lines
In the octet there is usually a problem/setup, in the sestet there is a resolution
'dubious ray [...] darkling way' - rhyming couplet seals poems end --> encapsulates euphoric experience + hints at speaker's fear of the return of inner turmoil
Iambic pentameter
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There are 6 pairs in the last line - no longer pentameter (alexandrine) - suggest lack of closure - gloom might return
'black shadow [...] lucid line [...] light surf on the level sand' - sibilance + 'l' alliteration --> lulling + almost holy - faith in life regained
'Like wandering fairy fires' - simile --> ethereal sublime emerging + use of 'wandering' --> gentle + calm appearance of the sublime
'Mislead the Pilgrim [...] dubious ray [...] wavering reason' - tricolon of words with connotations of uncertainty in last two lines --> speaker sensing the end of the enlightenment period with a wary attitude.
The meter of weak strong weak strong, show to split in between the rhyme scheme, and makes you wonder, since there’s a 50/50 chance, which force will take over him at the end ? The good or the evil force?
TITLE: Port = In between human world and enormous nature
‘That wavering reason lends in life’s long dwelling way’. The languid terms seem relaxed and also almost close to fatigue.
The sound of the harbour is brought to life by the sound of the weather and nature. Pathetic fallacy.
Sonnets are usually written in iambic pentameter where 5 sounds alternate of weak and strong but the last line has 6 not five sounds. (Alexandrine breaks a pattern). Here something hopeful is going broken.
‘Wavering reason’ - positive ‘darkling way’ - negative
Positive: couplet affirms the peace and calmer tone and changed spirit . Now he has reason and hope (ray of light) .
negative : dubious and doubtful that he might become dark again, sceptical that inner turmoil might return.