How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
When the drowned sailor clutched the drag-net. Light
Flashed from his matted head and marble feet, (4-5)
Lowell might describe the sailor as "clutching," but it's really the net that is clutching him. Lest we get our hopes up that he may still be alive and kicking, Lowell describes his skin as "marble." You don't get much less alive than stone.
Quote #2
The corpse was bloodless, a botch of reds and whites,
Its open, staring eyes
Were lustreless dead-lights (8-10)
This is pretty graphic stuff. The sailor is now just called the "corpse" and "it," and physically he's just a puppet being thrown around. It's strange that throughout the poem Lowell addresses him as if he is still there. With this image, though, we're meant to know very clearly that he's gone.