The inchcape rock

 

The inchcape rock

2. Answer the following questions in 30-40 words. 

a) The Abbot of Aberbrothok tied a bell to the Inchcape rock to warn passing ships of the danger. When sailors heard the bell ringing, they steered their ship safely away, thanking and praising the Abbot.

 b) Ralph wandered on the distant seas for a long time. He plundered and looted many ships. In this way, he gathered a lot of wealth and grew rich and prosperous. 

c) The sailors were unaware of where they were because the sky was hazy, and they could not hear the bell on the Inchcape rock. So, the ship hit the Inchcape Rock and broke. Waves engulfed it from all sides and it sank. 

d) In his dying fear, the Rover could hear one dreadful sound, which seemed like the sound made by the Inchcape Bell but was the sound of the death knell, being rung by the Devil himself. 

3. Answer the following questions in 100-120 words. 

a) Sir Ralph, the Rover, steered his course for Scotland’s shore after scouring the seas and becoming rich after plundering. A thick haze spread over the atmosphere and the sailors could not see the sun in the sky. The whole day strong winds blew and by evening the storm cleared away. Sir Ralph pacified the sailors by telling them that there would be good weather when the moon would rise in the sky. A sailor said that he could hear the roaring of the waves and it seemed that the shore was nearby while another wished he could hear the bell.

 b) The good symbolised by the Abbot and the bad symbolised by Ralph the Rover are compared. The poem demonstrates the principle that crime gets its own punishment. The Rover, in his high adventure and disregard for others, cuts off the bell with the view to vex the good Abbot and the other helpless sailors. He represents what is bad in man and ironically gets caught in his own trap of mischief. Remorse and regret later overtake him. Thus, ‘The Inchcape Rock’ says that one should not willingly cause harm to others. If they do, they would be punished in the end.