Convergence of the Twain
AP Literature and Comp
The Convergence of the Twain
The Convergence of the Twain, describes the event of the Titanic through the words of Thomas Hardy. He discusses the ship, and its history in detail. He uses strong diction, imagery, and his rhyme scheme in order to express the idea that fate is fixed, and the Titanic’s fate was sinking. He begins by using his title to start the idea off. The word Twain, stands for two; The Convergence of the Two. Right from the start, a reader gets that idea that coming together is the topic of the poem.
The strong diction builds a reader’s understanding of just how great the ship was represented. When one reads the poem he or she gets the impression that the ship was extravagant, and very large. Hardy uses words like vainglorious, stature, sensuous and grace to characterize the ship’s details. Deep in the sea, the remnants of the Titanic are covered by sea worms and, “all their sparkles (are) bleared black and white.” No longer is the beauty shining to the human eye, the ship is at the bottom of the sea, where it is only visible to the fish. But before it got there, it had extreme beauty. Hardy then goes on to discuss the creation of the ship, “as the smart ship grew, in stature, grace, and hue.” The ship is detailed as large, and graceful. In stanza nine, Hardy addresses the fact that no person knew the collision was coming, “Alien they seemed to be: no mortal eye could see the intimate welding of their later history.” He suggests that there is a greater being that knows what is going on, but no person knows.
Hardy’s use of strong diction creates imagery that allows a reader to understand the two different worlds of the iceberg and the ship. In stanza five Hardy introduces the greatness and glory of the ship through the personification of the fish, “dim moon-eyed fishes near gaze at the gilded gear and query: what does this vaingloriousness down here?” In stanza eight, Hardy addresses the greatness of the ship,
The Convergence of the Twain
The Convergence of the Twain, describes the event of the Titanic through the words of Thomas Hardy. He discusses the ship, and its history in detail. He uses strong diction, imagery, and his rhyme scheme in order to express the idea that fate is fixed, and the Titanic’s fate was sinking. He begins by using his title to start the idea off. The word Twain, stands for two; The Convergence of the Two. Right from the start, a reader gets that idea that coming together is the topic of the poem.
The strong diction builds a reader’s understanding of just how great the ship was represented. When one reads the poem he or she gets the impression that the ship was extravagant, and very large. Hardy uses words like vainglorious, stature, sensuous and grace to characterize the ship’s details. Deep in the sea, the remnants of the Titanic are covered by sea worms and, “all their sparkles (are) bleared black and white.” No longer is the beauty shining to the human eye, the ship is at the bottom of the sea, where it is only visible to the fish. But before it got there, it had extreme beauty. Hardy then goes on to discuss the creation of the ship, “as the smart ship grew, in stature, grace, and hue.” The ship is detailed as large, and graceful. In stanza nine, Hardy addresses the fact that no person knew the collision was coming, “Alien they seemed to be: no mortal eye could see the intimate welding of their later history.” He suggests that there is a greater being that knows what is going on, but no person knows.
Hardy’s use of strong diction creates imagery that allows a reader to understand the two different worlds of the iceberg and the ship. In stanza five Hardy introduces the greatness and glory of the ship through the personification of the fish, “dim moon-eyed fishes near gaze at the gilded gear and query: what does this vaingloriousness down here?” In stanza eight, Hardy addresses the greatness of the ship,