The Ocean (1825)
Poem by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1806-1864)
Music by Ed Lundergan
All parts together
Soprano
Alto
Tenor
Bass
Poem
The Ocean has its silent caves,
Deep, quiet, and alone;
Though there be fury on the waves,
Beneath them there is none.
The awful spirits of the deep
Hold their communion there;
And there are those for whom we weep,
The young, the bright, the fair.
Calmly the wearied seamen rest
Beneath their own blue sea.
The ocean solitudes are blest,
For there is purity.
The earth has guilt, the earth has care,
Unquiet are its graves;
But peaceful sleep is ever there,
Beneath the dark blue waves.
Nathaniel Hawthorne (1806 - 1864)
biography
About The Ocean
Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote his poem, The Ocean, in 1825, when he was 21, reflecting on the sea's dual nature—furious waves above, quiet depths below—possibly influenced by his sea captain father's loss at sea when Hawthorne was young. The theme of the poem contrasts between life's struggles and death's peace. The poem was published in The Salem Gazette that same year.