Throughout its history, mankind is inextricably linked with the sea. The sea inspired fear, gave hope and opened unprecedented opportunities for fantasies of distant wanderings and adventures. Therefore, there is nothing surprising in the fact that literary works about the sea are very popular with both writers and readers. It is worth starting the study of this image with ancient literary monuments.
Image history
One of the most powerful literary moves that can be used in an essay about the sea is an appeal to biblical stories that store inexhaustible treasures of inspiration and sacred images. The very history of modern mankind, according to the biblical text, begins with the Great Flood, when the sea and rains covered the land so that people could start life from scratch.
Thus, the sea is a symbol of renewal, the pursuit of a new life and immaculate cleanliness. Such a reading echoes the ideas of ancient peoples about the divine providence, embodied on Earth in the form of mysterious signs.
Already in the Old Testament, you can see the image of the sea as an element that a person cannot control. You can see, for example, how, by divine command, the sea reveals a huge fish absorbing the prophet Jonah.
However, the same sea parted before Moses, leading the Jews from Egypt, and swallowing up the enemies pursuing them. The Bible says: "And Moses stretched out his hand on the sea." After this, the waters parted, the Jews were able to leave the hostile country.
Sea of ancient Greeks
Among the ancient Greeks, compositions about the sea are of a different nature. In them the sea is full of opportunities for military campaigns, bringing glory, rich prey and divine immortality. Of course, the greatest monument of ancient Greek literature that speaks of the sea is the Odyssey, which tells of a Greek hero overcoming numerous trials on the way to his home after a military campaign.
This image of a hero wandering around the sea is a reflection of the life of the Greeks of that time, when they began to massively explore new spaces and organize settlements, as well as trading posts in distant lands.
During this period, numerous policies appeared in Sicily, in the southern regions of the Apennine peninsula, and even on the shores of the Black Sea - in Crimea, in the immediate vicinity of Gelendzhik.
Composition about the Black Sea
For the inhabitants of Russia, the image of the Black Sea is of crucial cultural significance, which is connected not only with the fact that millions of Russians spend their holidays on its shores annually.
For two centuries (starting with Peter the Great), the Black Sea coast and the sea surface were the scene of a fierce struggle between two empires - the Ottoman and Russian. The interests of many world powers intersected in this region and led to numerous wars, which ended with the signing of the Montreux Convention, which determined the status of the Black Sea straits and laid the foundation for the peaceful coexistence of the Black Sea states.
From an economic point of view, the Black Sea is of interest as a region through which numerous transport routes pass, as well as a great place to restore health and strength.
You can finish the essay about the sea with lines from Russian classical poetry. For example, Osip Emilievich Mandelstam in his poem "Insomnia" wrote about the sea like this:
Both the sea and Homer - everything moves with love.
Whom should I listen to? And Homer is silent,
And the black sea, flourishing, rustles.
And with a heavy roar comes to the head.
The open spaces of the sea always attracted a person looking to new discoveries and adventures, therefore, in an essay about the sea, allusions to such literary monuments as Odyssey, Iliad, and Twenty Thousand Leagues Underwater will inevitably appear.
In modern literature, of course, there are more and more images of airplanes, since the time itself, which rushes faster and faster every year, dictates the conditions. However, the sea open spaces have their devoted admirers, admirers of contemplation and romantic stories about ships, long-distance travels and courage.