Poetry Analysis of The Ballad of the Oysterman

The story of the Oysterman is one of heartbreak and star-crossed lovers (not as I had been hoping for a Superhero who fights crime using oysters, but whatever.) The poem tells of a tall young oysterman who lives across from an attractive daughter of a fisherman. The oysterman sees the daughter call out to him one night urging him to come over. The oysterman thought to himself that it would be a good idea to go see her, so he swam over to her house. He climbed up to her room and kissed her but they heard her father's footsteps so he leaped back into the water. The father questions what just fell into the water and she explains it was just a pebble she threw into the water, but he says that pebbles can't go that fast and she tries to cover it up and say it was a dolphin. The father urges for his harpoon to go kill the dolphin and the girl jumps into the water to stop him. Both her and the oysterman drown and they live on together selling oysters to mermaids down below.

This poem does not have much in the way of symbolism, but it goes for a more direct and head on method of tackling it's issues. There is a small amount of symbolism and reference but for the most part the poem plays out as it is read. The biggest and most obvious reference is the timeless story of the star-crossed lovers who are unable to be together due to an external conflict that prohibits them from being together. There is also symbolism in the role of the father who plays the part of the force that keeps them apart, and the role of the oysters is one of hope that keeps the idea of the lovers being together strong.

The poem is a simply, albeit beautiful one. The story of star-crossed lovers is timeless and numerous people can relate to the tragic story of the two lovers who fate declares shall not be together. Through simplistic and straight-forward writing methods the author, Holmes, manages to paint a hopeless and morose story that shows the tragic story of two souls urging for the others embrace, but finding no solace do to an external force.