What metaphors does Holmes use in "Old Ironsides"?

Question

When he's speaking of the ship what hes he comparing it to?
OLD IRONSIDES

By Oliver Wendell Holmes
September 16, 1830

Ay, tear her tattered ensign down!
Long has it waved on high,
And many an eye has danced to see
That banner in the sky;
Beneath it rung the battle shout,
And burst the cannon's roar;
The meteor of the ocean air
Shall sweep the clouds no more.

Her deck, once red with heroes' blood,
Where knelt the vanquished foe,
When winds were hurrying o'er the flood,
And waves were white below,
No more shall feel the victor's tread,
Or know the conquered knee;
The harpies of the shore shall pluck
The eagle of the sea!

Oh, better that her shattered bulk
Should sink beneath the wave;
Her thunders shook the mighty deep,
And there should be her grave;
Nail to the mast her holy flag,
Set every threadbare sail,
And give her to the god of storms,
The lightning and the gale!

Answer 1

If you can't tell, reading other people's answers prolly won't help you.

Answer 2

There are several metaphors here; the major ones are:

"Meteor of the ocean air": implying that Ironsides was so swift it was like a meteor flying through the ocean's air.

"harpies of the shore": shipbreakers ashore whose job it would be to dismantle the ship, like "harpies" from the Odyssey as they would tear apart careless mariners who came to steal from the feast left in the temple.

"eagle of the sea": comparing the ship to an eagle that soars, who would be "plucked" by the harpies (shipbreakers of previous metaphor).