Here is my line-by-line analysis of the poem.
Stanza 1
an armlet of frozen gold,
A golden armlet is easy to imagine, but what is frozen gold? Is he going to put some gold in the freezer? I don't think so. This is figurative language, so we have to figure it out. What comes to your mind when you hear the phrase "frozen gold"? I think of gold that is extra glittery, or perhaps it has some magical properties. |
Gods cut from the living rock,
In ancient times, people sculpted gods out of stone then bowed down to them in worship. Perhaps, in the back of their minds, some of them wondered: Is this a real god? Or am I merely praying to a lifeless block of stone? But what if you had a god that had been carved out of living rock? That would be special indeed. It might even have real powers! Think about it: The king is planning to give her a real god! Note: "Living rock" is an oxymoron. It's a combination of words that are contradictory. |
and carven gems in an amber crock,
Amber is a semiprecious stone that comes from the resin of ancient trees. Since ancient times it has been used to make jewelry. Sometimes, you can find chunks of amber with ancient critters still trapped inside. A crock is a pot, usually made of clay. But in this case we're talking about an amber crock. What does an amber crock filled with carven gems look like? I'm picturing something like the one pictured below. |
And a purple woven Tyrian smock,
A smock is a loose dress. But this is no ordinary dress. The king is going to give her a purple dress that was made in the city of Tyre. In ancient times, Tyre was famous for making purple dye. In those days, purple dye was actually quite difficult to make. In fact, the people of Tyre were just about the only people who could. They had developed a unique method: They gathered a special kind of sea snail, and they crushed these snails up to make a purple goop. It took tens of thousands of snails to make just one bucket of purple dye. Naturally, this dye was extremely expensive. It was so expensive, in fact, that hardly anyone could afford it except for kings and queens. As a result, Tyrian purple became known as the "royal color." So what does a Tyrian smock look like? I'm picturing something like the one on the right. One thing is for sure: A Tyrian smock would have cost a fortune. |
And wine from a pirate's hold.
The hold, in this context, means the cargo hold of a ship. The cargo hold is where you store your provisions. So this guy is planning to give her some wine from the hold of a pirate ship. My first question is this: How is he going to get it? If he's powerful enough to capture a pirate ship, he must be powerful indeed. My second question is this: Is there anything special about the wine that pirates keep in their cargo hold? Pirates, being notorious drinkers, appreciated good wine. So whenever they captured a ship, they immediately checked out the ship's store of wine, and they kept the best stuff for themselves. The cheap stuff they sold in port. I don't know, I just made that up. But I think it's reasonable to presume that wine you steal from a pirate ship must be extra special. |