Poem,—From the Polish
[Thomas Hood]
Genre: | Poetry, Letter, Drollery |
Relevant illustrations: | wdct. |
Illustrators: | T Hood |
Subjects: | Exploration, Heat, Medical Treatment |
The poem purports to be addressed by the captain of a whaler to his lover, complaining of the effects of the cold in the polar seas. The whaler exclaims: 'The Polar cold is sharp enough / To freeze with icy gloss / The genial current of the sould / E'en in a "Man of Ross"' [the pun is apparently on the northern county of Scotland and the polar explorer John Ross] (61). The illustration captioned 'Discovering the Pole' (facing 61) depicts a man being struck from behind by the projecting pole by which two horses are pulling a carriage. The sailor complains: 'For opodeldoc I would kneel, / My chilblains to anoint; / O Kate, the needle of the north / Has got a freezing point' (62). |
© Science in the Nineteenth-Century Periodical Project, Universities of Leeds and Sheffield, 2005 - 2020
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