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The Sands of Dee
Charles Kingsley
About Charles Kingsley
Charles Kingsley (1819-1875) was a priest, university professor, historian and novelist. Kingsley's interest in history is seen in his work, The Heroes, a children's book about Greek mythology, and in other historical novels he wrote. He is popularly remembered for his novel, The Water-Babies.
"O Mary, go and call the cattle home,
And call the cattle home,
And call the cattle home
Across the sands of Dee";
The western wind was wild and dank with foam,
And all alone went she.
The western tide crept up along the sand,
And o'er and o'er the sand,
And round and round the sand,
The rolling mist came down and hid the land:
And never home came she.
"Oh! is it weed, or fish, or floating hair−
A tress of golden hair,
A drowned∗ maiden's hair
Above the nets at sea?
Was never salmon yet that shone so fair
Among the stakes on Dee."
They rowed her in across the rolling foam,
The cruel crawling foam,
The cruel hungry foam,
To her grave beside the sea:
But still the boatmen hear her call the cattle home
Across the sands of Dee.
Available Answers
- 1.
What are the two details in stanza one that tell us something bad is going to happen?
- 2.
How does stanza two lead us to believe that Mary has drowned?
- 3.
Why does the speaker ask a question in stanza three?
- 4.
What do the boatmen hear even today amidst the sands of Dee?
- 5.
"O Mary, go and call the cattle home,
And call the cattle home,
And call the cattle home
Across the sands of Dee";
The western wind was wild and dank with foam,
And all alone went she.- Pick out the repeated phrase. What is the effect?
- What do you learn about Mary from these lines?
- 6.
They rowed her in across the rolling foam,
The cruel crawling foam,
The cruel hungry foam,
To her grave beside the sea:- Why did they bring Mary back to the land?
- How does the speaker convey emotion through the adjectives he uses for 'foam'?
2 more answer(s) available.