Maharashtra Board Class 12 English Chapter 2.3 The Inchcape Rock Textbook PDF Download

The Inchcape Rock

Ice Breakers

Prepare a word register related to marine life.

Sailors

The functions of a lighthouse are - to show the direction

Discuss in pairs the various famous rocks in the world and mention the places where they are.

Narrate in the class a story about someone who destroyed or spoilt someone else's good work.

Discuss in pairs and groups the following expressions. Take the help of your teacher.

As you sow so shall you reap

Crime gets its own punishment

What goes around comes around

Tit for tat

Evil digs a pit for others but falls into the same

Teacher's Note

This poem teaches us that bad actions come back to hurt us. Just like if you throw a stone in a pond, the water splashes back on you.

Exam Trick

Remember the word BELL - Bad actions Earn Lasting Lessons. The Inchcape Bell shows this perfectly in the poem.

Points to Remember

The Inchcape Rock is a dangerous rock in the sea near Scotland.
The Abbot placed a bell on the rock to warn sailors.
Sir Ralph was a pirate who removed the bell because of jealousy.
Ralph's own ship hit the rock because the bell was gone.
The poem teaches that evil actions bring punishment to the person who does them.

Robert Southey (1774 To 1843)

He was born in Bristol, England. He was the son of a draper, educated at Westminster School and Balliol College, Oxford.

He was a Poet Laureate of England from 1813 to 1843. Some of his short poems like The Scholar, The Battle of Blenheim, Bishop Hatto, The Inchcape Rock etc. are very popular with the school children.

The Inchcape Rock is a ballad. It is the story of the 14th century attempt by the Abbot of Aberbrothok to install a warning bell on Inchcape, a notorious sandstone reef about 11 miles (18km) off the east coast of Angus, Scotland, near Dundee and Fife, occupied by the Bell Rock Lighthouse.

Southey was inspired by the legendary story of a pirate who removed the bell on the Inchcape Rock placed by the Abbot of Aberbrothok. The poem gives us a message that those who do wrong things will meet with due punishment.

Teacher's Note

Robert Southey was a very famous English poet. He wrote this ballad based on a true story from Scotland's history about a dangerous rock in the sea.

Exam Trick

Remember: Southey wrote about the Inchcape Rock as a ballad. A ballad is a story written as a poem that you can sing, just like old folk songs in Indian villages.

Points to Remember

Robert Southey was born in Bristol, England in 1774.
He was the Poet Laureate of England for 30 years.
The Inchcape Rock poem tells the story of a bell on a dangerous rock.
A pirate named Sir Ralph removed the warning bell.
The poem shows that bad deeds always get punished.

The Inchcape Rock (Poem)

No stir in the air, no stir in the sea,
The ship was as still as she could be,
Her sails from heaven received no motion,
Her keel was steady in the ocean.

Without either sign or sound of their shock
The waves flow'd over the Inchcape Rock;
So little they rose, so little they fell,
They did not move the Inchcape Bell.

The Abbot of Aberbrothok
Had placed that bell on the Inchcape Rock;
On a buoy in the storm it floated and swung,
And over the waves its warning rung.

Abbot: head of Abbey of monks (Abbey: a building where monks or nuns live or used to live)

Buoy: floating object anchored in the sea to mark dangerous places

Teacher's Note

The Abbot was a good religious leader who wanted to save sailors from danger. In India, we have similar lighthouses on our coasts to help ships.

Exam Trick

Remember: Abbot = religious leader who helps people. Think of it like a village headman who takes care of everyone's safety.

Points to Remember

The Inchcape Rock is a dangerous reef in the sea.
The Abbot placed a warning bell on a buoy to help sailors.
When the sea was calm, the waves did not ring the bell.
The bell warned sailors about the dangerous rock.
The Abbot was kind and wanted to save people's lives.

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.

The Sun in heaven was shining gay,
All things were joyful on that day;
The sea-birds scream'd as they wheel'd round,
And there was joyance in their sound.

The buoy of the Inchcape Bell was seen
A darker speck on the ocean green;
Sir Ralph the Rover, walk'd his deck,
And he fix'd his eye on the darker speck.

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.

His eye was on the Inchcape float;
Quoth he, "My men, put out the boat,
And row me to the Inchcape Rock,
And I'll plague the Abbot of Aberbrothok'.

The boat is lower'd, the boatmen row,
And to the Inchcape Rock they go;
Sir Ralph bent over from the boat,
And he cut the Bell from the Inchcape float.

Down sunk the bell with a gurgling sound.
The bubbles rose and burst around;
Quoth Sir Ralph, 'The next who comes to the Rock
Won't bless the Abbot of Aberbrothok.'

Surge's swell: sudden and great rise in the level of the sea

Perilous: dangerous

Blest: old English form of blessed

Speck: a tiny dot

Sir Ralph the Rover: a sea pirate

Quoth: said

Plague: cause pain or trouble

Gurgling sound: a bubbling sound

Teacher's Note

Sir Ralph was a bad man who did evil things. In real life, when someone does something wrong to hurt others, they often face trouble later, just like Sir Ralph in this poem.

Exam Trick

Remember: Ralph = Evil pirate. He was happy and singing because he thought he was doing something clever, but it was actually very wrong and wicked.

Points to Remember

Sir Ralph the Rover was a sea pirate who was mean and evil.
He saw the warning bell on the Inchcape Rock.
He cut the bell from the buoy to cause trouble for the Abbot.
His action removed the warning system for ships.
Ralph's happiness was based on doing wrong things to others.

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