Analyze the poem "The Sea" by James Reeves.

“The Sea” by James Reeves is a three stanza poem that includes the use of metaphor, imagery, onomatopoeia, and varied rhyming schemes.

In the first stanza, the poet uses a metaphor to say “The sea is a hungry dog, Giant and gray.” Reeves continues the comparison by describing how the waves lap upon the sand in the same way that a dog would bound endlessly through the day, thus giving the sea the qualities of the dog. This metaphor is carried throughout the poem. The poet is describing the sea on a rough, gray day in this nine-line stanza, which has an ABBCCDDDC rhyming scheme. Using vivid imagery, the reader can see and feel the wildness of the ocean as it crashes along the shore all day long. The word “moan” is an example of onomatopoeia in this stanza.

In the shorter second stanza, Reeves describes the sea at night still comparing it to the actions and sounds of the dog. The sea rushes up higher on the “cliffs” while “howling” as the moon rises. It has an ABCCB rhyming pattern.

In the final stanza, the dog metaphor continues but the setting changes to a warm, calm day. The sea is compared to a dog lounging in the sun as it laps quietly along the sand. AAABCC is the rhyming pattern for the final stanza.

There is no obvious theme or deep meaning to the poem. It is direct in its metaphorical description of the sea.