"Sir Patrick Spence" - traditional Scottish ballad

1. Just good descriptive phrase, but it might foreshadow death, etc.
2. Wow, I have no idea. I don't think the poem gives us enough information about the king for us to determine his motives. It's not long enough, and the focus quickly shifts to Sir Patrick. Unless I missd something, we can't really tell.
3. We feel compassion because of the way the poet reveals their death - first, their apprehension about going in the first place. Then, describing the wome who will wait forever before they see their husbands and Sir Patrick return. While my passion for prose and a good story makes me curious about the shipwreck, I can see that, if the author were to detail it, the entire poem would lose it's mystic poetical charm, and become too realistic and physical.
4. Um, I have no idea. Do the moons tell us something about storms or something? I mean, the phrase is beautiful and adds to the expectation of coming disaster. Things are so peaceful, the moons and such, but we can see that trouble is coming.