How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
"If God himself had not been on our side,
If God himself had not been on our side,
When the Atlantic rose against us, why,
Then it had swallowed us up quick." (65-68)
The Quaker sailors are echoing Psalms here, even as they drown. They believe that God is still on their side, and that their deaths are his will. Now that's devotion.
Quote #2
In the great ash-pit of Jehoshaphat
The bones cry for the blood of the white whale, (94-95)
The Valley of Jehoshaphat is where the God of the Bible will gather everyone for judgment. Considering the amount of judging going on in this poem, we think that might be bad news for our sailors, whose bones are there, waiting to be judged.
Quote #3
This face, for centuries a memory,
Non est species, neque decor,
Expressionless, expresses God (121-123)
The Lady's face is impossible to read; she's got no expression. She's not even smiling. But the poem says that blank face expresses God. Say what? Maybe God is something we can't understand, or even recognize.