--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Bursts as a wave that from the clouds…" description: "\"Bursts as a wave that from the clouds impends, And swell'd with tempests on the ship descends; White are the decks with foam; the winds aloud Howl o'er..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3aa/homer-357_clouds_bursts-as-a-wave-that-from-the-clouds-im_2707163.png" --- # Bursts as a wave that from the clouds impends, And swell'd… ![“Bursts as a wave that from the clouds impends, And swell'd with tempests on the ship descends; White are the decks with foam; the winds aloud Howl o'er the masts, and sing through every shroud: Pale, trembling, tir'd, the sailors freeze with fears; And instant death on every wave appears.” quote by Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3aa/homer-357_clouds_bursts-as-a-wave-that-from-the-clouds-im_2707163.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3aa/homer-357_clouds_bursts-as-a-wave-that-from-the-clouds-im_2707163.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3aa/homer-357_clouds_bursts-as-a-wave-that-from-the-clouds-im_2707163.png) > “Bursts as a wave that from the clouds impends, And swell'd with tempests on the ship descends; White are the decks with foam; the winds aloud Howl o'er the masts, and sing through every shroud: Pale, trembling, tir'd, the sailors freeze with fears; And instant death on every wave appears.” [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A stormy sea threatens the ship, causing fear and imminent death among sailors, illustrating peril and vulnerability. **In simple terms:** Storms bring fear and danger to sailors. Key Takeaway Prepare for and endure extreme adversity. Themes danger fear nature Mood dramatic poetic Type mythic emotional When to use this quote - sailing voyages - disaster preparedness - leadership under crisis Key Concepts maritime hazards human fragility Questions to Reflect On - How do you confront overwhelming fear? - What strategies ensure survival? A Different Perspective Storms can be unpredictable and deadly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bursts Wave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bursts-wave-2779269/) [Clouds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clouds/) [Clouds Impends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clouds-impends-2779271/) [Deck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deck/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Foam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foam/) [Freeze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freeze/) [Howl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/howl/) [Instant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instant/) [Masts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masts/) [Pale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pale/) [Sailor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sailor/) [Ships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ships/) [Shrouds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shrouds/) [Storm clouds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storm-clouds/) [Swell Tempests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swell-tempests-2779268/) [Tempest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tempest/) [Tempests Ship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tempests-ship-2779272/) [Trembling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trembling/) [Wave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wave/) [Wave Clouds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wave-clouds-2779270/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) [Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wind/) ## Related quotes > [Death and pain dominate this world, for though many are cured, they leave still weak, still tremulous, still knowing mortality has whispered to them;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/death-and-pain-dominate-this-world-for-though-many-are-cured-they/) [Denise Levertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/) > [Glory is a shroud that posterity often tears from the shoulders of those who wore it when living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-jean-de-b-ranger/glory-is-a-shroud-that-posterity-often-tears-from-the-shoulders-of/) [Pierre-Jean de Beranger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-jean-de-b-ranger/) > [People rarely win wars, governments rarely lose them. People get killed. Governments moult and regroup, hydra-headed. They use flags first to shrink-wrap people's minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/people-rarely-win-wars-governments-rarely-lose-them-people-get-killed/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [ A wise God shrouds the future in obscure darkness. \[Lat., Prudens futuri temporis exitum Caliginosa nocte premit deus.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/a-wise-god-shrouds-the-future-in-obscure-darkness-lat-prudens-futuri/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Bodies of holy men and women exude Miraculous oil, odour of violet. But under heavy loads of trampled clay Lie bodies of the vampires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/bodies-of-holy-men-and-women-exude-miraculous-oil-odour-of-violet-but/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Flags are bits of colored cloth used first to shrinkwrap people's brains and then as ceremonial shrouds to bury the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/flags-are-bits-of-colored-cloth-used-first-to-shrinkwrap-people-s/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [The clouds are scudding across the moon, A misty light is on the sea; The wind in the shrouds has a wintry tune, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/the-clouds-are-scudding-across-the-moon-a-misty-light-is-on-the-sea/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [When the melancholy fit shall fall Sudden from heaven like a weeping cloud, That fosters the droop-headed flowers all, And hides the green hill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/when-the-melancholy-fit-shall-fall-sudden-from-heaven-like-a-weeping/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [I have found strength where one does not look for it: in simple, mild, and pleasant people, without the least desire to rule --…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/i-have-found-strength-where-one-does-not-look-for-it-in-simple-mild/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [We are to remember what an umpire Nature is; what a greatness, composure of depth and tolerance there is in her. You take wheat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/we-are-to-remember-what-an-umpire-nature-is-what-a-greatness/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Book burning is a charming old custom, hallowed by antiquity. It has been practiced for centuries by fascists, communists, atheists, school children, rival authors,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-armour/book-burning-is-a-charming-old-custom-hallowed-by-antiquity-it-has/) [Richard Armour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-armour/) > [The great loneliness- like the loneliness a caterpillar endures when she wraps herself in a silky shroud and begins the long transformation from chrysalis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-lesser/the-great-loneliness-like-the-loneliness-a-caterpillar-endures-when/) [Elizabeth Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-lesser/) > [My early self-portraits appeared effortlessly and seemed like equivalents for my deeper emotions. Many critics remarked that the images had an almost other-worldly haunting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-tenneson/my-early-self-portraits-appeared-effortlessly-and-seemed-like/) [Joyce Tenneson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-tenneson/) > [Royalty is a fine burial shroud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodora/royalty-is-a-fine-burial-shroud/) [Theodora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodora/) > [Those forms we fancy shadows, those strange lights That flash on dank morasses, the quick wind That smites us by the roadside—are the Night's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/those-forms-we-fancy-shadows-those-strange-lights-that-flash-on-dank/) [Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/) ## More by Homer > [He knew the things that were and the things that would be and the things that had been before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/he-knew-the-things-that-were-and-the-things-that-would-be-and-the/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“Few sons are like their fathers--most are worse, few better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/few-sons-are-like-their-fathers-most-are-worse-few-better/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, as it pleases him, for he can do all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-lord-gives-and-the-lord-takes-away-as-it-pleases-him-for-he-can/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story of that man skilled in all ways of contending, the wanderer, harried for years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/sing-in-me-muse-and-through-me-tell-the-story-of-that-man-skilled-in/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Hateful to me as are the gates of hell, Is he who, hiding one thing in his heart, Utters another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/hateful-to-me-as-are-the-gates-of-hell-is-he-who-hiding-one-thing-in/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“And Zeus said: “Hera, you can choose some other time for paying your visit to Oceanus — for the present let us devote ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/and-zeus-said-hera-you-can-choose-some-other-time-for-paying-your/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Ruin, eldest daughter of Zeus, she blinds us all, that fatal madness—she with those delicate feet of hers, never touching the earth, gliding over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/ruin-eldest-daughter-of-zeus-she-blinds-us-all-that-fatal-madness-she/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“Scepticism is as much the result of knowledge, as knowledge is of scepticism. To be content with what we at present know, is, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/scepticism-is-as-much-the-result-of-knowledge-as-knowledge-is-of/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Boy, everyone is stupid except me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/boy-everyone-is-stupid-except-me/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“With that the dream departed, leaving him there, his heart racing with hopes that would not come to pass. He thought he would take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/with-that-the-dream-departed-leaving-him-there-his-heart-racing-with/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Tell me, O Muse, of that ingenious hero who travelled far and wide after he had sacked the famous town of Troy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/tell-me-o-muse-of-that-ingenious-hero-who-travelled-far-and-wide/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Ah, beer, my one weakness. My Achille's heel, if you will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/ah-beer-my-one-weakness-my-achille-s-heel-if-you-will/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [My life is more to me than all the wealth of Ilius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/my-life-is-more-to-me-than-all-the-wealth-of-ilius/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Being popular is the most important thing in the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/being-popular-is-the-most-important-thing-in-the-world/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Urge him with truth to frame his fair replies And sure he will for Wisdom never lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/urge-him-with-truth-to-frame-his-fair-replies-and-sure-he-will-for/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) [Explore all 639 Homer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) ## More Clouds quotes > [How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/how-wonderful-it-would-be-i-thought-if-only-we-could-practice-the/) [Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/) > [It lies around us like a cloud- A world we do not see; Yet the sweet closing of an eye May bring us there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/it-lies-around-us-like-a-cloud-a-world-we-do-not-see-yet-the-sweet/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. It's a time when you really get to do what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/you-always-hear-actors-say-theater-is-my-first-love-and-it-is-it-s-a/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [No matter how strong the storm, how hard the rain and how vicious the wind there is always a gap in the clouds for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-greenhalgh/no-matter-how-strong-the-storm-how-hard-the-rain-and-how-vicious-the/) [Ben Greenhalgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-greenhalgh/) > [The sacred lamp of day Now dipt in Western clouds his parting day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-falconer/the-sacred-lamp-of-day-now-dipt-in-western-clouds-his-parting-day/) [William Falconer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-falconer/) > [Just as the setting sun turned the clouds to liquid gold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ende/just-as-the-setting-sun-turned-the-clouds-to-liquid-gold/) [Michael Ende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ende/) > [Evil may mar the divine image and cloud its brilliance, but it cannot destroy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/evil-may-mar-the-divine-image-and-cloud-its-brilliance-but-it-cannot/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [Max—you have a bigger mission than finding the flock's parents. Focus on helping the whole world, not just your friends. I held my wings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/max-you-have-a-bigger-mission-than-finding-the-flock-s-parents-focus/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [Sometimes I envy painters, it is wonderful to remain in front of a bouquet of flowers a whole morning, or even longer. A photographer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edouard-boubat/sometimes-i-envy-painters-it-is-wonderful-to-remain-in-front-of-a/) [Edouard Boubat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edouard-boubat/) > [Above the clouds I lift my wing To hear the bells of Heaven ring; Some of their music, though my fights be wild, To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-clarence-stedman/above-the-clouds-i-lift-my-wing-to-hear-the-bells-of-heaven-ring-some/) [Edmund Clarence Stedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-clarence-stedman/) > [If you like I'll be furious flesh elemental, or- changing to tones that the sunset arouses- if you like- I'll be extraordinary gentle, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-mayakovsky/if-you-like-i-ll-be-furious-flesh-elemental-or-changing-to-tones-that/) [Vladimir Mayakovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-mayakovsky/) > [Sometimes in life the clouds are too dark to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/sometimes-in-life-the-clouds-are-too-dark-to-see/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [May you eat an unfamiliar dessert in a strange land at least once every three years. May you wake up... and start dancing while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/may-you-eat-an-unfamiliar-dessert-in-a-strange-land-at-least-once/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) > [We're thrilled that our partnership with Adobe has now grown to span our three clouds - Microsoft Azure, Office 365, and Dynamics 365 -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-johnson/we-re-thrilled-that-our-partnership-with-adobe-has-now-grown-to-span/) [Peggy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-johnson/) [Browse all 2,443 Clouds quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clouds/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Bursts as a wave that from the clouds impends, And swell'd with tempests on the ship descends; White are the decks with foam; the winds aloud Howl o'er the masts, and sing through every shroud: Pale, trembling, tir'd, the sailors freeze with fears; And instant death on every wave appears.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Homer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/bursts-as-a-wave-that-from-the-clouds-impends-and-swell-d-with/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Clouds" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/bursts-as-a-wave-that-from-the-clouds-impends-and-swell-d-with/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3aa/homer-357_clouds_bursts-as-a-wave-that-from-the-clouds-im_2707163.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3aa/homer-357_clouds_bursts-as-a-wave-that-from-the-clouds-im_2707163.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3aa/homer-357_clouds_bursts-as-a-wave-that-from-the-clouds-im_2707163.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Bursts as a wave that from the clouds impends, And swell'd with tempests on the ship descends; White are the…” — Homer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Homer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Bursts as a wave that from...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/bursts-as-a-wave-that-from-the-clouds-impends-and-swell-d-with/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/bursts-as-a-wave-that-from-the-clouds-impends-and-swell-d-with/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```