The Inchcape Rock, Comprehension Level Questions and Answers

The Inchcape Rock

Robert Southey

I. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

When the Rock was hid by the surge’s swell,

The Mariners heard the warning Bell;

And then they knew the perilous Rock,

And blest the Abbot of Aberbrothok.

(i) Which Rock is referred to in this extract? Where was the rock? How was it sometimes hidden?

The Inchcape rock is referred to in the extract. The rock lay hidden in the sea off the east coast of Scotland. It sometimes remained hidden under sea water during the high tide.

(ii) Give the meaning of surge’s swell. What is meant by the warning bell? How was the warning bell rung?

The words ‘surge’s swell’ mean the sea-waves moved up and down and rose high due to the influence of tides. The warning bell refers to the bell placed on the Inchcape rock by the Abbot of Aberbrothok, to give a warning to the sailors about the danger from the rock. The warning bell was placed on a buoy and during high tides the movement of waves made the buoy to float and in turn rang the bell and warned the sailors.

(iii) Why was the Rock said to be perilous? Give an example from the poem to show that the Rock was perilous?

The Rock was said to be perilous because many ships had been wrecked by it when it remained covered by sea water during a high tide. Sir Ralph’s ship struck against the Inchcape Rock and drowned in the sea.

(iv) Who is known as the Abbot? Explain why the mariners blessed the Abbot.

The Head monk of a monastery or church is known as an Abbot. The mariners blessed the Abbot Aberbrothok because he placed a bell on the Inchcape Rock, which gave a warning to the mariners about the perilous rock and thus, saved them and their ships from drowning.

(v) The poem is written in the form of a ballad, which was sung traditionally by a wandering musician. Give any two elements of the ballad shown in the extract.

A ballad is a long narrative poem that tells a story. It is a heightened narration that uses narrative technique like rhyme and figures of speech. The two elements of ballad in the given extract are the following:

(a) The rhyming pattern followed in this extract is aabb (Swell- Bell; Rock-Aberbrothok).

(b) There is a repetition of consonant sound at the beginning of words (alliteration) to facilitate narration:

1. ..... surge’s swell

2. ..... then they

II. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

He felt the cheering power of spring,

It made him whistle, it made him sing;

His heart was mirthful to excess,

But the Rover’s mirth was wickedness.

1.              Who was the Rover? What kind of a person was he?

Sir Ralph was a rover or a sea pirate. He was a wicked and jealous man.

(ii) What made the Rover sing? Give the meaning of:

His heart was mirthful to excess,

But the Rover’s mirth was wickedness.

The pleasant day in the spring season made the Rover sing. But the real reason was that in a such calm atmosphere he would be able to carry out his wicked plan of defaming the Abbot of Aberbrothok by cutting off the bell from the Inchcape Rock and thereby, loot the wealth from the shipwrecks.

The given lines mean that the Rover’s heart was extremely joyful but his joy was due to his wicked plan.

(iii) What did the Rover see? What did he ask his sailors to do?

The Rover saw the buoy of the Inchcape Rock like a dark speck on the green ocean. He asked his sailors to lower the boat and row him to the Inchcape Rock.

(iv) Where did the Rover want to go? Why?

 The Rover wanted to go near the Inchcape Rock to cut off the warning bell to spoil the fame and reputation of the Abbot of Aberbrothok, who has placed the bell there and to loot the wealth from the shipwrecks.

(v) In what mood was the Rover as shown in the extract? What in the extract shows his mood? What was the mood of the Rover at the end of the poem?

The Rover was in a joyful mood in the extract. His joyful mood is reflected in the extract by his act of whistling and singing. At the end of the poem, the Rover was in a mood of despair and frustration.

III. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

The boat is lowered, the boatmen row,

And to the Inchcape Rock they go;

Sir Ralph bent over from the boat,

And cut the bell from the Inchcape Float

(i)             Where did the boatmen row the boat?

 The boatmen rowed the boat to the Inchcape Rock.

(ii)What did the Rover do there? Why did he do that?

 The Rover cut off the bell from the Inchcape Rock. He did so out of jealousy and self-interest. He wanted to spoil the fame and reputation of the Abbot of Aberbrothok, who has placed the bell there. It would also allow him to easily loot the wealth from the shipwrecks, caused by the Inchcape Rock.

(iii) Describe the impact of the Rover’s action on the ship as well as on himself.

The Rover’s act of cutting the bell from the Inchcape Rock led to the collision of his ship with the rock and finally, the drowning of the ship with the Rover.

(iv) What did the Rover say after doing the wicked deed?

After performing the wicked deed of cutting the bell from Inchcape Rock, the Rover said that from then onwards the mariners who used to thank the Abbot would no longer thank him.

(v)Who had kept the bell there? Why was the bell placed on the float?

 The Abbot of Aberbrothok had kept the bell there. The bell was placed on the float because the movement of the float during the high tide would make the bell ring and warn the sailors of the danger from the rock.

(vi) The sailors, passing by earlier, blessed the Abbot of Aberbrothok for placing the warning bell on the Inchcape Rock and thereby, saving them from the perilous rock.

IV. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

Sir Ralph the Rover, sail’d away,

He scour’d the seas for many a day;

And now grown rich with plundered store,

He steers his course to Scotland’s shore.

(i) Where did the Rover sail away? How did he grow rich?

The Rover sailed away from the Inchcape Rock. He became rich by looting the wealth from the ships that struck against the Inchcape Rock.

(ii) After amassing wealth, where was the Rover sailing?

After amassing wealth, the Rover was sailing towards the shore of Scotland.

(iii) Describe the weather conditions prevailing when the Rover was sailing. How do the weather conditions predict about the Rover’s final fate?

When the Rover was sailing, there was a thick haze over the atmosphere and no sun in the sky. There were strong winds and darkness all around. The weather conditions predicted that finally the Rover would meet his end in the sea.

(iv) How is the Rover wicked, jealous and a robber?

The Rover was a wicked man who was jealous of the fame and reputation of the Abbot of Aberbrothok. That is why he carried out his wicked plan of cutting off the warning bell on the Inchcape Rock, placed there by the Abbot. He was a robber who became rich by looting the wealth from the shipwrecks.

(v) Compare the character of the Abbot to that of the Rover.

 The Abbot was a kind and compassionate man, who placed a warning bell on the Inchcape Rock to forewarn the sailors about the danger to their ships from the perilous rock. The Rover, on the other hand, was a jealous and wicked man, who cut off the warning bell on the Inchcape Rock to defame the Abbot and to loot the wealth from the shipwrecks.

V. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

‘Canst hear,’ said one, ‘the breakers roar?

For methinks we should be near the shore.

“Now, where we are I cannot tell,

But I wish I could hear the Inchcape Bell.”

(i)             Describe the weather when Rover and his sailors were going towards the shore of Scotland.

 When the Rover and his sailors were going towards the shore of Scotland, the weather was bad, with a thick haze over the atmosphere, no Sun in the sky and strong winds.

(ii) What is meant by ‘the breakers roar’? Normally, when the breakers roar, what indication is given?

The words “the breakers roar” mean the roaring of the sea waves, i.e., the sound made when the sea waves break on the shore. The breakers roar normally signify a high tide when the sea waves surge up and down with a great force.

(iii) Who wishes that they could hear the Inchcape Bell? How could the bell have helped them?

The sailors wished that they could hear the Inchcape Rock. The ringing of the bell would have indicated the presence of the perilous rock and thus saved the ship from colliding with it.

(iv) Why couldn’t the sailors see any land on the way to Scotland’s shore? How was Ralph optimistic about the weather?

The sailors could not see any land on the way to Scotland’s shore because of bad weather. There was a thick haze in the atmosphere and total darkness in the absence of the Sun in the sky. Sir Ralph was optimistic that the weather would improve by night when the moon would rise in the sky.

(v) In the absence of the Inchcape Bell, no warning sound was heard by the sailors and the vessel struck against the Inchcape Rock.

VI. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

They hear no sound, the swell is strong,

 Though the wind hath fallen they drift along;

Till the vessel strikes with a shivering shock,

“Oh Christ!” It is the Inchcape Rock!”

(i) Why couldn’t they hear any sound? What would have happened if they had heard normal expected sound as ususal?

They could not hear any sound due to the absence of the warning bell on the Inchcape Rock, which the Rover had cut off. If the sailors had heard the normal expected sound of the warning bell from the Inchcape Rock, they would have saved the ship from striking against the rock.

(ii)Give the meaning of the following:

 (a) the swell is strong: there are strong waves in the sea.

(b) They drifted along: They moved slowly towards the shore.

(iii) What happened to the vessel? Why was it a shivering shock?

The vessel struck against the Inchcape Rock. It was a shivering shock because the ship collided with the rock and the waves from all sides began to engulf it.

(iv) What was the reaction of Sir Ralph to what had happened? What had he done to deserve such a treatment?

Sir Ralph was in a state of despair and shock when he realised that his ship had struck against the Inchcape Rock. In his frustration, he pulled his hair and cursed himself. Sir Ralph’s ship struck the very rock from which he had removed the warning bell and sank in the sea.

(v) Give a brief character sketch of Sir Ralph.

Sir Ralph was a sea pirate. He was a wicked and jealous man. He used to loot wealth from the ships that fatally crashed against the Inchcape Rock. But when the Abbot of Aberbrothok placed a warning bell, he cut off the bell to defame the good Abbot and put the other helpless sailors into trouble. However, he got caught in his own trap of mischief when his ship struck against the Inchcape Rock and sank in the sea alongwith him.

(vi) What moral lesson is conveyed to the readers through this poem?

The moral conveyed through this poem is—As you sow, so shall you reap. The Rover cut off the bell from the Inchcape Rock, but his own ship struck against the very Rock because of the absence of any warning sound and sank in the sea.

VII. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

But even in his dying fear,

One dreadful sound could the Rover hear;

A sound as if with the Inchcape Bell,

The Devil below was ringing his knell.

1.               In his dying fear what sound could the Rover hear? Why was it a dreadful sound?

The Rover could hear the sound of his sinking ship, which seemed to him like the sound made by the Inchcape Bell. The sound was dreadful because there was no chance of surviving the shipwreck.

(ii) Compare the sound of the Inchcape bell and the dreadful sound.

The sound of the Inchcape Bell was a forewarning of the danger from the perilous rock to the sailors and was thus life-saving. The dreadful sound, on the other hand was that of the sinking ship that signalled the end of Sir Ralph. Therefore, it appeared to be like a funeral bell being run by the Devil himself.

(iii)Give the meaning of:

 The Devil below was ringing his knell mean that the sound which Sir Ralph was hearing appeared to him like the sound of the Inchcape bell. But actually the sound was that of the sinking ship.

(iv) How is the theme ‘the evil that one plots for others, recoils on oneself, carried out at the end of the poem?

Sir Ralph, the Rover cut off the warning bell, which the Abbot of Aberbrothok had planted on the Inchcape Rock as a forewarning to the sailors. But Sir Ralph’s own ship struck against the very rock due to the absence of any forewarning sound and drowned in the sea with Sir Ralph. Thus, the evil that Sir Ralph plotted for the Abbot and the other sailors, recoiled on him.

(v) In the Inchcape Rock there is adventure, valour and jealously. How are these elements dealt with in the poem?

The Inchcape Rock is a ballad comprising adventure, valour and jealousy. Sir Ralph, the pirate, went on an adventure trip on the sea with his sailors. He had the valour to take the risk of cutting off the bell from the Inchcape Rock, which the Abbot of Aberbrothok had placed there to warn the sailors. He did this wicked act out of jealousy as he could not accept the popularity of the good Abbot and wanted to defame him. He also did so because of selfish motive as he used to make wealth by looting money from the ships that crashed after striking against the Inchcape Rock.