Oscar Wilde

La Mer

La Mer - meaning Summary

Sea After a Storm

The poem depicts a ship at sea after a storm, focusing on atmosphere and the contrast between nature and machinery. A wintry night with mist and a fierce moon makes human figures seem small and shadowed while the engine-room’s movement and polished steel assert industrial presence. The storm’s aftermath appears in heaving waves and delicate foam, blending damage with a fragile, lace-like beauty and the sea’s ongoing power.

Read Complete Analyses

A white mist drifts across the shrouds, A wild moon in this wintry sky Gleams like an angry lion's eye Out of a mane of tawny clouds. The muffled steersman at the wheel Is but a shadow in the gloom; - And in the throbbing engine-room Leap the long rods of polished steel. The shattered storm has left its trace Upon this huge and heaving dome, For the thin threads of yellow foam Float on the waves like ravelled lace.

default user
PoetryVerse just now

Feel free to be first to leave comment.

8/2200 - 0