Question

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide

Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;

And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,

And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

—"Sea Fever,”
John Masefield

Read the excerpt from “Sea Fever.” Then, use the drop-down menus to answer the questions.

Identify the sound device shown in boldface in the poem.


Identify the mood that has been created by the way this stanza sounds.

Answer 1

Sound device: Alliteration (sibilance — the repeated "s" sounds in “spray,” “spume,” “sea‑gulls”).

Mood created: A restless, yearning excitement — longing for the sea and its wild, exhilarating freedom.