A safe home by Unknown — Analysis & Translation

Original Poem

A safe home But I was gotten home to my little tent , where I lay with all my wealth about me very secure. It blew very hard all that night, and in the morning when I look’d out, behold, no more ship was to be seen; I was a little surpriz’d, but recover’d my self with this satisfactory reflection, viz.2 that I had lost no time, nor abated no diligence to get every thing out of her that could be useful to me, and that indeed there was little left in her that I was able to bring away if I had had more time. I now gave over any more thoughts of the ship, or of any thing out of her, except what might drive on shore from her wreck, as indeed divers pieces of her afterwards did; but those things were of small use to me. My thoughts were now wholly employ’d about securing my self against either savages, if any should appear, or wild beasts, if any were in the island; and I had many thoughts of the method how to do this, and what kind of dwelling4 to make, whether I should make me a cave in the earth, or a tent upon the earth: and, in short, I resolv’d upon both, the manner and description of which it may not be improper to give an account of. I soon found the place I was in was not for my settlement, particularly because it was upon a low moorish5 ground near the sea, and I believ’d would not be wholsome6, and more particularly because there was no fresh water near it, so I resolv’d to find a more healthy and more convenient spot of ground. I consulted several things in my situation which I found would be proper for me: 1st , health and fresh water I just now mention’d; 2dly, shelter from the heat of the sun; 3dly , security from ravenous7 creatures, whether men or beasts; 4thly, a view to the sea, that if God sent any ship in sight, I might not lose any advantage for my deliverance, of which I was not willing to banish all my expectation yet. In search of a place proper for this, I found a little plain on the side of a rising hill, whose front towards this little plain was steep8 as a house-side, so that nothing could come down upon me from the top; on the side of this rock there was a hollow9 place worn a little way in like the entrance or door of a cave, but there was not really any cave or way into the rock at all. On the flat of the green, just before this hollow place, I resolv’d to pitch my tent. This plain was not above an hundred yards broad, and about twice as long, and lay like a green before my door, and at the end of it descended irregularly every way down into the lowgrounds by the sea side. It was on the N.N.W.10 side of the hill, so that I was shelter’d from the heat every day, till it came to a W. and by S. sun, or thereabouts, which in those countries is near the setting. Before I set up my tent, I drew a half circle before the hollow place which took in about ten yards in its semidiameter from the rock, and twenty yards in its diameter, from its beginning and ending. In this half circle I pitch’d two rows of strong stakes11, driving them into the ground till they stood very firm like piles12, the biggest end being out of the ground about five foot and a half, and sharpen’d on the top. The two rows did not stand above13 six inches from one another. Then I took the pieces of cable which I had cut in the ship, and I laid them in rows one upon another, within the circle, between these two rows of stakes, up to the top, placing other stakes in the in-side, leaning against them, about two foot and a half high, like a spurr14 to a post, and this fence was so strong that neither man or beast could get into it or over it. This cost me a great deal of time and labour, especially to cut the piles in the woods, bring them to the place, and drive them into the earth. The entrance into this place I made to be not by a door, but by a short ladder to go over the top, which ladder, when I was in, I lifted over after me, and so I was compleatly fenc’d in, and fortify’d, as I thought, from all the world and consequently slept secure in the night, which otherwise I could not have done, tho’, as it appear’d afterward, there was no need of all this caution from the enemies that I apprehended danger from. Into this fence or fortress, with infinite labour, I carry’d all my riches, all my provisions, ammunition, and stores, of which you have the account above; and I made me a large tent, which, to preserve me from the rains that in one part of the year are very violent there, I made double, viz. one smaller tent within, and one larger tent above it, and cover’d the uppermost with a large tarpaulin which I had sav’d among the sails.

Translation (English)

A secure home But I got back to my small tent, where I lay with all my belongings around me, feeling safe. The wind blew hard all night, and in the morning, when I looked out, the ship was gone; I was a bit surprised, but I calmed myself by thinking that I had not wasted any time and had worked hard to get everything useful from it, and there was little left that I could have taken even with more time. I stopped thinking about the ship or anything from it, except what might wash ashore from its wreck, as some pieces did later; but those were not very useful to me. My mind was now focused on protecting myself from savages, if any appeared, or wild animals, if any were on the island; and I thought a lot about how to do this and what kind of shelter to make, whether a cave in the ground or a tent on the ground: and, in short, I decided on both, the details of which I will describe. I soon realized the place I was in was not suitable for settling, mainly because it was on low, marshy ground near the sea, which I believed would not be healthy, and more so because there was no fresh water nearby, so I decided to find a healthier and more convenient spot. I considered several things in my situation that would be suitable for me: firstly, health and fresh water I just mentioned; secondly, shelter from the sun's heat; thirdly, protection from dangerous creatures, whether humans or animals; fourthly, a view of the sea, so if God sent a ship in sight, I might not miss any chance for rescue, which I was not ready to give up hope for yet. In search of a suitable place, I found a small plain on the side of a rising hill, whose front towards this plain was as steep as a house-side, so nothing could come down on me from the top; on the side of this rock, there was a hollow place worn a little way in like the entrance or door of a cave, but there was no actual cave or way into the rock at all. On the flat green area just before this hollow place, I decided to pitch my tent. This plain was not more than a hundred yards wide and about twice as long, and lay like a green before my door, and at the end of it descended unevenly down into the lowlands by the seaside. It was on the north-northwest side of the hill, so I was sheltered from the heat every day until it came to a west and by south sun, or thereabouts, which in those regions is near sunset. Before setting up my tent, I drew a half-circle before the hollow place, which took in about ten yards in its semi-diameter from the rock, and twenty yards in its diameter, from its beginning and ending. In this half-circle, I placed two rows of strong stakes, driving them into the ground until they stood very firm like piles, the biggest end being out of the ground about five and a half feet, and sharpened on the top. The two rows did not stand more than six inches apart. Then I took the pieces of cable I had cut from the ship and laid them in rows one upon another, within the circle, between these two rows of stakes, up to the top, placing other stakes inside, leaning against them, about two and a half feet high, like a spur to a post, and this fence was so strong that neither man nor beast could get into it or over it. This took me a lot of time and effort, especially to cut the piles in the woods, bring them to the place, and drive them into the earth. The entrance to this place was not by a door, but by a short ladder to go over the top, which ladder, when I was in, I lifted over after me, and so I was completely fenced in and fortified, as I thought, from all the world and consequently slept securely at night, which otherwise I could not have done, though, as it appeared later, there was no need for all this caution from the enemies I feared. Into this fence or fortress, with immense effort, I carried all my riches, all my provisions, ammunition, and stores, of which you have the account above; and I made myself a large tent, which, to protect me from the rains that in one part of the year are very heavy there, I made double, one smaller tent within, and one larger tent above it, and covered the uppermost with a large tarpaulin which I had saved among the sails.

About the Poet

Unknown (Unknown)

The poet's identity and era are not found in the available resources.

Historical Context

Literary Form: Prose poetry
When Written: Unknown
Background: The poem reflects themes of survival, self-reliance, and adaptation in an isolated environment. It may be inspired by classic survival narratives.

Sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqs11fM4Kxk, https://vk.com/video-228956988_456241415

Detailed Explanation

This prose poem describes the narrator's efforts to create a secure home after being stranded. The narrator recounts their initial surprise at the disappearance of their ship but finds solace in having salvaged useful items. The focus shifts to survival, emphasizing the need for protection against potential threats like savages and wild animals. The narrator deliberates on the best type of dwelling, ultimately deciding on a combination of a cave and a tent. The chosen location is strategic, providing shelter from the sun, fresh water, and a view of the sea for potential rescue. The narrator constructs a fortified enclosure using stakes and cables, ensuring security and peace of mind. This poem explores themes of self-reliance, adaptation, and the human instinct to create safety in unfamiliar environments. The detailed description of the construction process highlights the labor and ingenuity involved in establishing a sense of home and security.

Themes

Literary Devices

Word Dictionary

Word	Meaning	Translation	Transliteration
secure	safe	protected from danger	si-kyoor
surpriz’d	surprised	shocked or astonished	sur-prized
recover’d	recovered	regained composure	ri-kuhv-erd
viz.	namely	that is to say	viz
abated	reduced	lessened	uh-bay-ted
diligence	hard work	persistent effort	dil-i-juhns
wholsome	healthy	beneficial to health	hohl-suhm
moorish	marshy	wet and boggy	moor-ish
ravenous	hungry	extremely hungry or greedy	rav-uh-nuhs
semidiameter	half diameter	half the diameter of a circle	sem-ee-dahy-am-i-ter
fortify’d	fortified	strengthened	for-ti-fied
tarpaulin	cover	waterproof cloth	tahr-paw-lin