Question

Excerpt from: Old Ironsides
Oliver Wendell Holmes

Oh, better that her shattered hulk
Should sink beneath the wave;
Her thunders shook the mighty deep,
And there should be her grave;
Nail to the mast her holy flag,
Set every threadbare sail,
And give her to the god of storms,
The lightning and the gale.

What does the speaker envision as a fitting end for this ship?

A) She should go down in one last glorious battle.
B) The people on shore should take her from the ocean.
C) She should be set out to sea and given up to a storm.*** K12 ANSWER
D) The people should take her in to a safe harbor and turn her into a shrine.

Answer 1

C) She should be set out to sea and given up to a storm

Answer 2

In the poem “Old Ironsides” by Oliver Wendell the narrator is telling the story about the ship, a proud war ship that is going to be decommissioned, the vessel went to through several battles and deserve a good end for its previous glory, in this last stanza the narrator described as a fitting end for the ship that she should be set out to sea and given up to a storm, the answer is C.