...Thou glorious mirror ! where the Almighty's form Glasses itself in tempests. 4. And I have lov'd thee, Ocean ! and my joy Of youthful sports, was on thy...with thy breakers, — they to me Were a delight. 6. And this is in the night ! Most glorious night ! Thou wert not sent for slumber ! let me be A sharer...

...pilgrimage, I can say of knowledge, — " And I have loved thee, — and my joy Of youthful sport, was on thy breast to be Borne like thy bubbles onward,— from a boy I wanton'd with thy breakers, — they to me Were a delight ; and if the fresh'ning sea Made them a terror...

...with the plain, and hurl thee headlong into the sea." ABSURD BOAST OF XERXES. "And I have loved thee, Ocean! and my joy Of youthful sports was on thy breast...near, And laid my hand upon thy mane — as I do here. LORD BYBON. "Silence, ye troubled waves ; and thou deep, peace, Said then th' omnific word; your discord...

...on its breast to be Borne, like its bubbles, onward: from a boy I wanton'd with its breakers—they to me Were a delight; and if the freshening sea Made them a terror—'twas a pleasing fear." The sailor's life was my " beau ideal" of happiness. As I grew older...

...a buried allusion to Genesis when he recalls his boyhood love of the ocean: And I have loved thee, Ocean! and my joy Of youthful sports was on thy breast...to be Borne, like thy bubbles, onward: from a boy I wanton'd with thy breakers - they to me Were a delight; and if the freshening sea Made them a terror...

...each soné Obeys thee ; thon goest forth, dread, fathomless, alone. CLXXXTV. And I have loved thee, a man who wanton 'd with thy breakers — they to me Were a delight ; and if the freshening sea Made them a terror...

...the parentage of Ocean and then denies even that priority by taming the great devourer to his will: For I was as it were a Child of thee, And trusted...near, And laid my hand upon thy mane — as I do here. (4.184) The ocean is Byron's last semblable, not a complementary double or other, for those will always...

...yeast of waves, which mar Alike the Armada's pride, or spoils of Trafalgar. 184 And I have loved thee, Ocean! and my joy Of youthful sports was on thy breast...near, And laid my hand upon thy mane - as I do here. (Complete Poetical Works, vo1. II, pp. 184-6) Discussion There is much here that reminds us of Wordsworth:...

...the deep are made; each zone Obeys thee; thou goest forth, dread, fathomless, alone. CLXXXIV CLXXXI Were a delight; and if the freshening sea Made them...pleasing fear, For I was as it were a child of thee, 1655 And trusted to thy billows far and near, And laid my hand upon thy mane - as I do here. My task...

...when Byron brings his sublime discourse down to earth by means of a frankly autobiographical touch: Borne, like thy bubbles, onward: from a boy I wantoned with thy breakers—they to me Were a delight; and if the freshening sea Made them a terror—'twas a pleasing...