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Prepared a sinister mate. For her — so gaily great — A Shape of Ice, for the time far and dissociate. VIII. And as the smart ship grew. In stature, grace, and hue, In shadowy silent distance grew the Iceberg too. IX. Alien they seemed to be; No mortal eye could see. The intimate welding of their later history,
The best The Convergence of the Twain study guide on the planet. The fastest way to understand the poem's meaning, themes, form, rhyme scheme, meter, and poetic devices.
- Summary
- Symbols and Themes
- Epigraph
- Detailed Analysis
‘The Convergence of the Twain’ by Thomas Hardydescribes the power of Immanent Will in the convergence of the Titanic and the iceberg. The poem begins with the speakerstating that the sea is a place of solitude. When one goes there, all human pride and vanity disappear. There is no use for it in the sea. The speaker gives a few examples specifically...
There are a number of symbols within ‘The Convergence of the Twain’ that are important to take note of. The first of these is the most obvious: the sea. It symbolizesanother world, one that is impossible for humankind to fully understand. There is an inherent mystery to its impenetrable depths. Additionally, the speaker emphasizes the solitude that...
A reader should also take note of the subtitle and the context it gives the poem before beginning an in-depth analysis. Hardy gave ‘The Convergence of the Twain’ an epigraphin order to ensure the reader knew what the poem was based on. It reads, “(Lines on the loss of the “Titanic”).” With this important piece of information, a reader is able to cr...
II
In the next three lines of ‘The Convergence of the Twain’,the reader arrives at the wreck of the Titanic. There are “Steel chambers” crumbling at the bottom of the ocean, and there are no “pyres” or fires burning in the ship’s engine. It has no life. The speaker refers to these fires as “salamandrine,” meaning something having the characteristics of a salamander. The fires and the areas in which they were built should’ve been like the salamander, impervious to flame. Rather than having these...
III
The speaker goes on to discuss all the different things one would find in the wreckage. The first example is the “opulent” mirrors in which the richest passengers would study their reflections. Now, though, they are useless. There are only “sea-worms,” and they crawl on and around these same mirrors. In contrast to the opulence of the Titanic’s passengers, these worms are “grotesque, slimed, dumb, indifferent.” They obviously don’t know what this place is, or the world the mirrors were create...
IV
Additionally, the speaker states that there are jewels in the ocean. At one point, they were designed joyously in order to please a “sensuous mind.” These types of emotions do not exist in the ocean. The jewels that were once so beautiful are now sitting at the bottom of the ocean among the wreck. They are now “lightless,” and all the sparkle they once had is “black and blind.” A reader should take note of the numerous uses of alliterationin this section, such as with “bleared and black and b...
- Female
- October 9, 1995
- Poetry Analyst And Editor
The Convergence of the Twain (Lines on the loss of the Titanic)" is a poem by Thomas Hardy, published in 1912. The poem describes the sinking and wreckage of the ocean liner Titanic. "Convergence" is written in tercets and consists of eleven stanzas (I to XI), following the AAA rhyme pattern.
- In a solitude of the sea Deep from human vanity, And the Pride of Life that planned her, stilly couches she.
- Steel chambers, late the pyres Of her salamandrine fires, Cold currents thrid, and turn to rhythmic tidal lyres.
- Over the mirrors meant To glass the opulent The sea-worm crawls—grotesque, slimed, dumb, indifferent.
- Jewels in joy designed To ravish the sensuous mind Lie lightless, all their sparkles bleared and black and blind.
After the “unsinkable” steamship Titanic hit an iceberg and sank on its maiden voyage from London to New York in 1912, Thomas Hardy wrote “The Convergence of the Twain” to be printed in the...
In “The Convergence of the Twain,” Hardy suggests that God seals the fate of the Titanic—thus making its demise inevitable—as punishment for the sin of pride and arrogance. — Wesley, Owl Eyes Editor
