Skipper Ireson’s Ride (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: John Greenleaf Whittier
- First Published: 1857
- Type of Work: Ballad
- Genres: Poetry, Ballad
- Subjects: Mythology or myths, Nineteenth century, New England, Legends, Sailing or sailors, Sea or seafaring life, Fables
The Poem
“Skipper Ireson’s Ride,” a ballad in nine eleven-line stanzas, is a story told through a third-person narrator who reports on the words and actions of the poem’s characters but does not take part in them. Typically, a ballad presents one dramatic or exciting episode, not a fully developed story. As the title suggests, “Skipper Ireson’s Ride” focuses on one brief moment in the man’s life: his ride out of the town of Marblehead, Massachusetts.
The poem opens by harkening back to strange rides from legends and fables that would have been familiar to...
[The entire page is 1576 words long]
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