By Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.
It was a tall young oysterman lived by the riverside;
His shop was just upon the bank, his boat was on the tide;
The daughter of a fisherman, that was so straight and slim,
Lived over on the other bank, right opposite to him.
It was the tidy oysterman that saw a lovely maid,
Upon a moonlight evening, a rowing on the shade;
He called across the river, “Oh, lovely maid!” cried he,
“Come down and share my oysters, I’ll share my love with thee.”
Now, love had never entered the maiden’s heart before,
But soon she loved the oysterman, and could not love him more.
She sighed whene’er she saw his boat upon the river glide;
The oysterman looked very wise, and did not row his tide.
And now the lovers were betrothed, and when the night came down,
The oysterman would cross the stream to see his lady brown;
But there was one that envied him, and swore to have his life,—
And this was the jealous fisherman, that owned the maiden’s wife.
One night the oysterman did come, and rowed across the tide,
He steered toward the fisherman’s house, his lovely bride beside;
But as he pulled the little boat along the moonlit stream,
He heard a splash behind him, and the moonlight lost its beam.
The tide was strong, the oysterman was gone beneath the wave;
And now the lover and his love were sleeping in one grave;
And often when the wind blows high, and the tide is on the turn,
They say the oysterman’s ghost doth cry, “Where is my sweet return?”
Originally published in The Atlantic Souvenir (1830) by Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. Public domain.
Analysis
Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.’s “The Ballad of the Oysterman” is a haunting narrative poem that fuses humor, romance, and tragedy — traits characteristic of early 19th-century American Romanticism.
Though light in rhythm and musicality, the poem unfolds a tale of love, jealousy, and death along a moonlit riverside. Holmes, best known for his wit and satire, here displays a flair for storytelling steeped in atmosphere and irony.
Narrative Structure and Folk Influence
The poem follows the structure of a traditional ballad, written in quatrains with alternating rhymes that lend a singsong cadence to the tragic tale. Holmes’s style evokes oral storytelling, making the poem sound like something one might hear recited in a tavern or on a wharf.
This balladic rhythm contrasts with the dark outcome, amplifying the sense of irony: a story that begins with youthful flirtation ends with spectral mourning.
Themes of Love, Jealousy, and Death
At its core, the poem dramatizes how innocent affection can be destroyed by envy and circumstance. The oysterman’s courtship across the river symbolizes connection and risk, as he crosses both literal and emotional boundaries. The jealous fisherman introduces the theme of rivalry that drives the lovers to their doom.
The final image of their ghosts crying out to each other merges romance and horror — a recurring motif in 19th-century poetry that reflects the Romantic fascination with the supernatural and the eternal endurance of love.
Tone and Irony
Holmes imbues the poem with a deceptively playful tone. Its singable rhythm and colloquial diction initially suggest a lighthearted folk tale. Yet the cheerful form masks a dark moral: human passion, when thwarted or corrupted by jealousy, leads to ruin.
The repetition of the “moonlight” and “tide” reinforces the cyclical inevitability of fate, while the ghostly conclusion transforms the lovers into part of the river’s eternal song.
Holmes’s Poetic Range
Although Holmes is remembered chiefly as a member of the Boston literary circle known as the Fireside Poets, “The Ballad of the Oysterman” demonstrates his ability to weave humor, sentiment, and tragedy into a compact lyric narrative.
It shows how even a domestic setting — a riverside town — can serve as the stage for grand human emotions, echoing both folk legend and moral fable.