​Ryder's The Flying Dutchman

The Flying Dutchman
(by Albert Pinkham Ryder) (1879)

​Who hath seen the Phantom Ship,
Her lordly rise and lowly dip,
Careering o'er the lonesome main
No port shall know her keel again.

But how about that hopeless soul
Doomed forever on that ship to roll,
Doth grief claim her despairing own
And reason hath it ever flown
Or in the loneliness around
Is a sort of joy found
And one wild ecstasy into another flow
As onward that fateful ship doth go.

But no, Hark! Help! Help! Vanderdecken cries,
Help! Help! on the ship it flies;
Ah, woe is in that awful sight,
The sailor finds there eternal night,
'Neath the waters he shall ever sleep,
And Ocean will the secret keep.
Picture
Albert Pinkham Ryder, Flying Dutchman (completed by 1887), Smithsonian American Art Museum
Discussion points, questions, and activities
  • What in this painting (and poem) exhibits the Romantic impulse?
  • Ryder included this poem along with the canvas when it was exhibited. What do you think the poem adds to the painting? Do you think the fact that Ryder composed both the poem and painting changed how the painting was received? Does the fact that Ryder worked in both mediums change the meaning of either piece? How so?
  • Check out this video from the Smithsonian for a discussion of this and another of Ryder's artworks:
REFERENCES

Poem: Metropolitan Museum of Art: Loan Exhibition of the Works of Albert P. Ryder: New York, March 11 to April 14, MCMXVIII. Cornell University Library, 2009. Print.