first of all the mood needs to be defined: it is obviously a mood of deceitful relief and serenity. why? because the cape horn is one of the most violent maritime regions of earth and although it has been left behind, it is a personification of ahabâs delirium and the fact that the end of the passage speaks about it about being âhiddenâ but âravingâ immediately conveys the feeling the calm is not permanent but fleeting.
furthermore, the oxymoron âmild stun'sailsâ is the first instance of such feeling as the adjective âmildâ is associated with âstunnedâ underscoring the fleeting nature of this âtranquilâ moment. and the contrasts keep piling up, with the opposition between âdark denâ and âblessed light and airâ to end with the final conclusion that leaves the reader with the uneasy knowledge that this is just a reprieve.