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"Cargoes" has three five-line stanzas
that are similar in structure. The first line of each stanza identifies a type of ship
- a Quinquirem, a galleon and a coaster. The second line begins with an action verb
ending in -ing and identifies a location - Paletine, the tropics,
and the [English] Channel. The third lines are prepositional phrases that list or begin
a list of the things the ships are carrying - ivory (etc.), diamonds (and other
jewels) and coal (etc.). Each of the cargoes reflects the culture of the country of
origin of the ship - so for example, in the first stanza, the ship is an ancient one
that comes from Ninevah. Read that stanza and ask yourself how the cargo represents this
culture. Then look at the second stanza. This ship is from Spain during its exploration
of the New World. Note how the cargo reflects that culture. Both of
the first two stanzas have cargoes that not only reflect the culture at the time, but
are also exotic cultures - look at the products.
Now look
at the third stanza. This one is very different. The imagery in this stanza is different
- look for the types of words used, such as "dirty". This ship is not traveling the
high seas, but crawling along the coastline. It is a working ship. Where is the ship
from? It is a British ship, in modern times. What is its cargo? How does this cargo
differ from the cargoes on the other two ships? (hint: NOT exotic, but practical). Its
cargo is not romantic, true................but what will this cargo be used for? Will it
be used to advance and improve the world of kings and princes, or will it be used to
advance and improve the world of both kings and princes and common people? So, it may
not be as exotic, but perhaps its cargo is more noble? And, its cargo is much more
republican. The poet is perhaps commenting on which of the three ships he believes has a
better purpose.
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