John Masefield's Cargoes

The apparent talk in “Cargoes” is about ships and their shipments, but is there a deeper meaning? Do the ships symbolize the riches of the modern, medieval, and contemporary world? These questions can be answered throughout the poem and digested with a deeper meaning. The Quinquereme, Spanish galleon, and the British coaster deteriorated rapidly throughout the poem. When comparing the Quinquereme and the British coaster the difference is obvious. Each critic makes a point of making the ships stand out in the poem. Jhan Hochman and Bruce Meyer agree that the British coaster is dirty and carrying daily goods needed in life. The wealth throughout the centuries digresses, but both Jhan Hochman and Bruce Meyer believes that this poem has more than just wealth implemented inside. The poem loosely resembles the story of the three wise men. Each of the wise men brought different goods back to their king. Masefield uses the Quinquereme, Spanish galleon, and British coaster to symbolize the wealth throughout each century, the poem also relates back to the biblical story of the three wise men.
The first wise men brought frankincense, which was a resin. The Quinquereme of Ninevah traveled to Ophir, to retrieve goods such as ivory, sandalwood, cedarwood, and sweet white wine (line 5). It is not stated where Ophir was, but it was thought to be located in present day Saudi Arabia (Hochman). These goods were retrieved from Ophir every three years and used in King Solomon’s throne and kingdom. Sandalwood was used to build and support Solomon’s lavish temple (Hochman). In the building of Solomon’s throne slavery was important, but the slaves began to resent him later on, which greatly affected the king’s son. Masefield makes a point in the poem t...

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...t is considered to be the wealthiest. The third stanza is where the rubber meets the road and shows the contrast of the poem. Ultimately, the actions taken in the first two stanzas were compared to that of the third. The third stanza compares to the present day the most, by justifying why people work for a better quality of life.

Works Cited

Masefield, John. “Cargoes.” Allpoetry.com N.p. N.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2014.
Soule, George. “John Masefield’s ‘Cargoes.’” George Soule Homepage. Carleton College. Carolyn Soule, 26 Apr. 2006. Web. 6 Apr. 2014.
Hochman, Jhan. “Critical Essay on ‘Cargoes.’” Poetry for Students. Ed. Mary Ruby. Vol. 5. Detroit: Gale Group, 1999. Literature Resource Center. Web. 6 Apr. 2014.
Meyer, Bruce. “Critical Essay on ‘Cargoes.’” Poetry for Students. Ed. Mary Ruby. Vol. 5. Detroit: Gale Group, 1999. Literature Resource Center. Web. 6 Apr. 2014.