The Berg Literary Elements

The poem is told from a first-person point of view by a narrator who witnesses the event. The opening line, "I saw a ship of martial build," establishes the speaker as a direct observer of the scene.

The poem consists of three stanzas of varying lengths and does not follow a strict metrical pattern. However, it uses consistent rhyme echoes such as "steer" / "mere" and "down" / "on" throughout the stanzas, creating a subtle cohesion in sound.

The poem serves as an extended metaphor for the conflict between human creation and nature's destructive power.

The ship represents human hubris, ingenuity, and martial pride with its "brave apparel" and "martial build."

The iceberg, or "Berg," symbolizes the colossal, indifferent, and overwhelming force of nature.

Alliteration is used to create rhythm and reinforce imagery:

"Lumpish thou, a lumbering one— / A lumbering lubbard loitering slow" emphasizes the iceberg’s clumsy immobility.

"Seals, dozing sleek on sliddery ledges" highlights the animals' passive and undisturbed state.

Herman Melville uses assonance to create musicality and emphasize sounds, such as the long "o" sound in "slow" and the repetition of vowel sounds throughout the poem.

The poem's irony lies in the stark contrast between the ship's formidable "martial build" and its swift, baffling defeat by the stolid, indifferent iceberg. A vessel designed for war is destroyed by an unmoving, silent natural force.

"The Berg (A Dream)" is primarily a lyric poem, but it also contains elements of a narrative poem, telling the story of a ship's sinking. The parenthetical title, "A Dream," aligns it with dream poetry traditions.

The setting is the sea, a frigid, watery expanse where the ship encounters the immense iceberg. Descriptions such as "glass-green gorges" and "crystal beaches" evoke a desolate, natural environment.

The tone combines awe and somber reflection, portraying the ship's destruction and the iceberg's immense power. The final stanza conveys a sense of frustration at nature’s indifference.

Protagonist: The ship, symbolizing human ambition and will. Antagonist: The iceberg, representing nature's impassive and destructive power.

The central conflict is the futile struggle between human ingenuity (the ship) and the unstoppable force of nature (the iceberg). The ship's "madness mere" in challenging the iceberg leads to its immediate demise.

The collision between the ship and the iceberg marks the climax, when the central conflict peaks, and the ship is "stunned" and "went down."

The ship's "martial build" and "brave apparel" in the opening lines foreshadow its role in a violent confrontation, hinting at the destruction to come.

The poem emphasizes the iceberg's power through understatement. Phrases like "Nor budge it," "No other movement," and "felt no jar" highlight the insignificance of the ship's impact on nature.

The poem alludes to Biblical stories, such as Jacob wrestling with an angel, paralleling the ship's struggle with the iceberg as a spiritual or metaphysical conflict.

Metonymy: "Her standards set, her brave apparel on" — standards refers to the ship's flags, symbolizing honor and national identity.

Synecdoche: The "brave apparel" represents the ship as a whole and the human effort invested in it.

Both the ship and iceberg are personified:

The ship is described as "infatuate" and "stunned," giving it human-like emotions.

The iceberg exhales a "dankish breath" and is called a "lumbering lubbard," giving it a living, imposing presence.

The iceberg's size and stillness are exaggerated. The ship's impact does not "budge" or "jar" the berg, nor disturb "the slimy slug that sprawls" upon it, emphasizing nature's overwhelming power.

Words like "crashed" and "stunned" recreate the sound of the collision, contrasting with the iceberg's silent and indifferent response.