In the three-stanza poem, Cargoes, John Masefield develops imagery to create a negative impression of modern commercial life.

There is a contrast between the first two stanzas and the third, with the first two demonstrating the romantic, distant past and the third demonstrating the modern, gritty, grimy present. Masefields images are thus both positive and lush, on the one hand, and negative and stark on the other. The most evocative and pleasant images in the poem are included in the first stanza. The speaker asks that we imagine a Quinquereme of Nineveh from distant Ophir, an ocean-going, many oared vessel loaded with treasure for the biblical King Solomon. The visual impression is colorful, rich and romantic The imagery of richness is established with ivory (line 3), and is continued with exoticism of aapes and peacocks in all their strangemess and colorfulness. The speaker adds to the fullness of this scene by referring to sandalwood, cedarwood, and sweet white wine, thus, adding images to smell and taste. The sunny light of ancient Palestine not only illuminates Masefields scene, but invites readers to imagine the suns warming touch. The references to animals and birds also suggest images of the sound these exotic creatures would make. Thus, in this lush first stanza, images derived from all the senses are introduced to createhe life and impressions of glorious past. Almost equally lush are the images of the second stanza, shich completes the first part of the poem. Here the visual imagery evokes the royal splendor of a tall-masted, full-sailed galleon at the height of Spains commercial power in the sixteeth century. The cargo of the galleon suggests great wealth, with diamonds and amethysts sparkling to the eye, and gold moidores of Portugal gleaming in colorful chests. With cinnamon in the second stanzas bill of lading, Masefield includes a reference to a pleasant-tasting spice. The negative imagery on the third stanza is in stark contrast to the first two stanzas. Here the poem draws the visual image of a modern Dirty British Coaster to focus on the griminess and suffocation of modern civilization. This sprayswept ship is loaded with materials designed to pollute the earth with noise and smoke. The smokestack of the coaster (line 11) and the firewood it is carrying suggest the creation of choking smog. The Tyre coal (line 13) and road rails (line 14) suggest the noise and smoke of puffing railroad engines. As it this were not enough, the pig-lead (line 14) to be used in various industrial processes indicates not just more unpleasantness, but also something more poisonous and deadly. In contrast to the lush and stately imagery of the first two lines, the images in the third stanza invite the conclusion that people now, when the Dirty British coaster buffs through the English Channel, are surrounded and threatened by visual, olfactory, and auditory pollution. The poem thus establishes a romantic past and ugly present through images of sight, smell, and sound. The images of motion are also directed to agree with this view: in stanzas 1 and 2 the quinquerime is rowing and the galleon is dipping. These kinetic images conveyed by participles of motion suggest dignity and lightness. The British coaster, however, is butting, and image indicating bull-like hostility and blind force. These, together with all the other images, focus the poems negative views of todays consumer-oriented society. The facts that life for both the ancient Palestinians and the Renaissance Spaniards (by those Spanish explorers who exploited the natives of the (isthmus) should probably not be emphasized as a protest against Masefields otherwise valid contrasts in images. His final commentary may

hence be thoguht of as the banging of the cheap tin trays, which makes a percussive climax of the oppressive images filling too large a portion of modern lives (Roberts: 1988).

Type of Work and Structure

"Cargoes" is a lyric poem with three stanzas, each with five lines. The stanzas are alike in structure. For example, the first line of each stanza identifies a type of ship at sea, and the second linebeginning with an action verb ending in -ingidentifies a locale. The third line, a prepositional phrase, begins to list items in the cargo; the fourth and fifth lines complete the list. The second and fifth lines of each stanza end in masculine rhyme. In each stanza, the first line has twelve syllables and the second line has eleven syllables. Notice also that the first line of each stanza omits the definite article a before the first word. None of the stanzas has a complete sentence. The stanzas are in chronological order.

The first stanza is full of historical references. The poem starts with, Quinquireme of Nineveh from distant Ophir/ Rowing home to haven in sunny Palestine. This can be a confusing and abstract opening if you do not understand the reference. Encyclopedia.com defines a quinquireme as an ancient Roman or Greek galley of a kind believed to have had three banks of oars, the oars in the top two banks being rowed by pairs of oarsmen and the oars in the bottom bank being rowed by single oarsmen. Once this this reference is understood, the reader can have a clear picture of how massive this vessel is and how much manpower it would demand. The word haven indicates this is a joyous trip. Another indication of this is the cargo that is described in the poem, ...of ivory,/ And apes and peacocks,/ Sandalwood, cedarwood, and sweet white wine. These are very indulgent and rich items of the time. The fact that this ship is rowing also hints at indulgence, since these treasures are having to be moved by hard labor from those that will not enjoy them. According Encyclopedia.com, this is a late 16th century sailing warship. While this ship is also caring treasures that are different than the ones described in the poem above, ...of diamonds,/ Emeralds, amythysts,/ Topazes, and cinnamon, and gold moidores. These are riches as well but they are more ornamental items. The focus here is not worldly pleasures but of wealth. Stanza two also uses a historical reference that the reader needs to understand to appreciate the image of a galleon. According to Encyclopedia.com, this is a late 16th century sailing warship. While this ship is also carrying treasures, they are different than the ones described in the poem above, ...of diamonds,/ Emeralds, amythysts,/ Topazes, and cinnamon, and gold moidores. These are riches as well but they are more ornamental items. The focus here is not worldly pleasures but of wealth. The third stanza is a vastly different image from the first two. Dirty British coaster with a saltcaked smoke stack,/ Butting through the Channel in the mad March days, is a much more negative view than the reader has been shown. The word dirty helps show the reader that this not a stately ship like the other two. Other indicators in the poem of this are the cargo, of Tyne coal,/ Road-rails, pig-lead,/ Firewood, iron-ware, and cheap tin trays. These are far from riches or luxury items. The cargo described in this stanza are items needed for the function of industries. The fact that Masefield uses ships to show these glimpses of history makes the statement that he feels the working man is important to, and not the leaders of, that time period. This is

what Masefield was in his youth, and is what moves a nation, not the men whose names will be in the history book