Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- Why does the speaker give so much attention to the sea? Is it more than just scenery?
- Why did Robert Browning break the poem into two separate poems? (See "In a Nutshell" for some details on this.)
- How do you feel about how few verbs there are in the poem? What effect does this sort of word choice have?
- What effect does the poem's rhyme scheme (ABCCBA ABCCBA) achieve?