Simmons 1

Geth Simmons
Mr. Thompson
English 1302. 10
5 December, 2016
A Tragic Tale
The poem Sir Patrick Spens, submitted anonymously, is actually more of a traditional
ballad rather than the average poem. Like most traditional ballads this one relates a sad and
tragic story of danger and death (Marchino). Sir Patrick Spens is a lyric "poem" with a serious
tone. The original author uses imagery, dialect and rhythm to tell this historic tragedy.
The poem uses imagery to give the reader a picture of the story as it unfolds. The king
sends Sir Patrick Spens a braid letter and he opens it as he is walking on the sand (9, 12). As
he reads this letter the tear blinded his ee, this shows the reader that the contents have made Sir
Patrick Spens cry, showing the beginning of the sad tragedy (16). Many times throughout the
story imagery is used to describe something which holds a deeper meaning. For example, when
the unnamed man in the story said 'Late, late yestre'en I saw the new moon/Wi'the old moon in
his arm, he is telling of a crescent moon with the outline of a fully rounded moon which was
often believed to be an indication of severe storms to come, (Marchino; Anonymous 25). There
is no detail of this said storm but this description of the ominous moon gives the reader an
image of death by drowning, (Marchino). This is also an example of a metaphor that is used to
portray something without directly stating it. This along with the strange dialect and rhythm is
important to the structure of the ballad.
The dialect in the poem is very strange yet very important to the image that the author
was trying to portray. It sets the time period and gives the reader more insight to better
understand the plot. It also gives the ballad an authentic feeling and aids in giving the audience
a great perspective (Rumens). The words used also play a part in imagery, as covered before.
Such as when the poem reads was walking on the sand, this presents an image of a man
walking on the sand of a beach (12). Although in modern times we would simply say walking

Simmons 2
on a beach, we are still able to understand what is being presented while getting the full Scottish
experience. For example, the poem speaks of a "braid" letter which has a denotative meaning of
a "to weave together strips or strands of," but in this example it has a denotative meaning of
broad or long, which derives from the Scottish language ("braid"). Along with the dialect
presenting an image it also presents a mood. From the very beginning words like ill are
mentioned and even tells of Sir Patrick Spens having tears in his eyes (16). Also, the word fear is
repeated multiple times throughout the story. The original author most likely did this to set the
mood of fear and sadness as the story progressed. This dialect and imagery is presented with a
unique rhythm that sets the poem apart from others.
The rhythm in Sir Patrick Spens is the main literary device used in the poem. The poem
itself consists of four-line stanzas with every second and fourth line rhyming in abcb style,
switching back and forth from tetrameter to trimeter, (Marchino). All of this combined is
virtually a model of the form of the traditional English ballad, (Marchino). Ballads are not like
traditional poems but they are instead closer to being a song. Most often carrying a mood
haunted by violence and death, as is the case in Sir Patrick Spens (Rumens). The rhythm is
what largely makes this poem a ballad. When reading it, the reader can get a feel of the mood
and suspense that is being created along with the imagery and dialect. These three literary
devices combined tell a story of suspense and historic tragedy in Sir Patrick Spens.
This poem is a dark, suspenseful poem written as a ballad back in medieval times. It's use
of imagery and dialect give it an authentic Scottish feeling that enables the reader to connect with
the story and its use of rhythm makes it easy to remember and a joy to read. These all contribute
to make it one of the most popular English ballads today. This poem is unique in the sense that it
is not only a master literary piece but also tells a story that triggers the mind to wander what is
was like during the days of the great Sir Patrick Spens.

Simmons 3

Simmons 4

Works Cited
"Braid". Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 9 Dec. 2016. <Dictionary.com
Howells, Herbert, Claire Rutter, James Gilchrist, Roderick Williams, David Hill, and Herbert
Howells. Hymnus Paradisi: Sir Patrick Spens. Hong Kong: Naxos, 2007. Internet
resource.
Marchino, Lois A. Sir Patrick Spens. Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition (2002): 1-3.
Literary Reference Center. Web. 8 Dec. 2016.
Rumens, Carol. "Poem of the week: Sir Patrick Spens." Theguardian, www.theguardian.com.
Accessed 15 March 2010.