John Keats wrote "On the Sea" while he was taking a holiday on the Isle of Wight in 1817. His friend John Reynolds submitted it to a London newspaper, The Champion, on his behalf; the paper published the poem later that year. In this sonnet, a speaker advises that people who are worn out and irritated by the "uproar" of daily life should go and sit quietly beside the ocean for a while. The sea's vastness, mystery, and power, the speaker suggests, can refresh even the noisiest mind—and open people up to a wider world of imagination.
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The Full Text of “On the Sea”
1It keeps eternal whisperings around
2Desolate shores,—and with its mighty swell
3Gluts twice ten thousand caverns,—till the spell
4Of Hecate leaves them their old shadowy sound.
5Often ’tis in such gentle temper found,
6That scarcely will the very smallest shell
7Be lightly moved, from where it sometime fell,
8When last the winds of heaven were unbound.
9Ye, that have your eye-balls vex'd and tired,
10Feast them upon the wideness of the Sea;—
11Or are your hearts disturb'd with uproar rude,
12Or fed too much with cloying melody,—
13Sit ye near some old cavern’s mouth, and brood
14Until ye start, as if the sea-nymphs quired.
The Full Text of “On the Sea”
1It keeps eternal whisperings around
2Desolate shores,—and with its mighty swell
3Gluts twice ten thousand caverns,—till the spell
4Of Hecate leaves them their old shadowy sound.
5Often ’tis in such gentle temper found,
6That scarcely will the very smallest shell
7Be lightly moved, from where it sometime fell,
8When last the winds of heaven were unbound.
9Ye, that have your eye-balls vex'd and tired,
10Feast them upon the wideness of the Sea;—
11Or are your hearts disturb'd with uproar rude,
12Or fed too much with cloying melody,—
13Sit ye near some old cavern’s mouth, and brood
14Until ye start, as if the sea-nymphs quired.
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“On the Sea” Summary
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“On the Sea” Themes
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The Mystery and Beauty of the Ocean
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “On the Sea”
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Lines 1-2
It keeps eternal whisperings around
Desolate shores, -
Lines 2-4
—and with its mighty swell
Gluts twice ten thousand caverns,—till the spell
Of Hecate leaves them their old shadowy sound. -
Lines 5-8
Often ’tis in such gentle temper found,
That scarcely will the very smallest shell
Be lightly moved, from where it sometime fell,
When last the winds of heaven were unbound. -
Lines 9-10
Ye, that have your eye-balls vex'd and tired,
Feast them upon the wideness of the Sea;— -
Lines 11-12
Or are your hearts disturb'd with uproar rude,
Or fed too much with cloying melody,— -
Lines 13-14
Sit ye near some old cavern’s mouth, and brood
Until ye start, as if the sea-nymphs quired.
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“On the Sea” Symbols
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The Sea
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“On the Sea” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Consonance
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Assonance
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Apostrophe
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Caesura
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Enjambment
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Personification
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Onomatopoeia
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Allusion
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“On the Sea” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Desolate
- Swell
- Gluts
- Hecate
- Temper
- Scarcely
- Sometime
- Unbound
- Ye
- Vex'd
- Rude
- Cloying
- Brood
- Quired
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “On the Sea”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“On the Sea” Speaker
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“On the Sea” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “On the Sea”
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More “On the Sea” Resources
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External Resources
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The Poem's Inspiration — Read about the circumstances in which Keats wrote this poem. He was probably inspired not just by his holiday on the Isle of Wight but by his reading (and rereading) of King Lear.
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The Poem Aloud — Listen to the poem read aloud to the sound of waves.
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The Romantic Sea — Read about how Keats's poem fits into a bigger Romantic interest in the ocean.
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Keats, Shakespeare, and Mozart — Read about how Keats's love of Shakespeare and Mozart influenced this poem.
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Keats's Life and Work — Learn more about Keats and his poetry at the British Library's website.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by John Keats
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