Posted by GeraintLewis on July 24, 2003 at 14:54:51 from 217.154.252.70 user Geraint_Lewis.
In Reply to: Re: Broadening one's horizons posted by Katharine Edgar on July 24, 2003 at 13:44:40:
I'm not sure where I first heard or read this, but I believe that the poem refers to the Battle of Aboukir Bay, otherwise known as the Battle of the Nile, arguably Nelson's most impressive (and indeed exceedingly bloody) victory over the French.
The "boy" was the son of the French Admiral and the poem relates the destruction of the French Flagship, the massive L'Orient. At the height of the battle she caught fire and, not only packed with gunpowder for her own guns but also for the French Army on shore, she blew up. The explosion was apparently so great that the entire battle stopped for several minutes whilst everyone else recovered from being stunned.
The battle was historically significant, not only because it scuppered Napoleon's plans to invade India, but also because it meant that the Rosetta Stone ended up in London rather than Paris after the now marooned French Army who discovered it were forced to surrender.
I think Katharine's right that the poem praises an unquestioning obedience that seems almost unreal in today's world. But I imagine that in that very different world such attitudes were regarded as amongst the highest of virtues, especially amongst admirals and their sons.