Flying Over The Fissured Beach

The first line of the poem begins with two accents in a row, which slows the reading. This, in addition to the words brood, huge, and clifted, give the first line a primal feel, the beginning of the poem is like the beginning of the earth in this way. It could be re-written along the lines of "The massive foam hanging over the fissured beach,", and still carry the effect, this event has been taking place for years, before man. Lack of perception in line 2 is communicated through the words dark and mute, which emphasizes the roar in line 3, this is a contrast. However, this contrast is contrasted by the phrase "drowsy billows", referring to those same waves, maintaining the feeling of slowness and returning to the sense of senselessness. Line 5 introduces a feeling of distance, using words like remote and distant, which we find out in the next line refers to noises. Distance in addition to quiet creates an introspective feeling, which is probably what Smith was experiencing while writing the poem, if the title is the truth. Line 6 spells what I have previously seen spelled "barque" as "bark". "Bark" is a word that can also mean a noise, and since noise had been a focus of the previous lines, I do not think this was an accident. The subject matter of lines 5-8, the noises faintly heard, is of sailors and a man ringing a bell.