convergence of the twain
TRANSCRIPT
THE CONVERGENCE OF THE TWAIN – THOMAS
HARDY
ANALYSIS
The Titanic makes up one half while the Iceberg makes up the other. And the two are totally
unaware of one another, just like opposites like night and day that we might imagine to be
unaware of one another since they're so different. On a deeper level, these halves symbolise the
creative and destructive forces that are everywhere and are maybe governed by some sort of
"Immanent Will."
SYMBOL ANALYSIS – THE SEA
Lines 16-18: Here's where we first see that Immanent Will
that's fashioning a luxury boat on one hand but likely is doing
quite the opposite on the other. So the Titanic
symbolizes the creative side here.
Lines 19-21: At the same time the Titanic is being built, that same Immanent Will is preparing a "sinister mate" far out at sea. So that Iceberg symbolizes the
destructive force that makes up the second half.
Lines 22-24: The two halves are totally unaware of one another but ironically are growing together here. There's a kind of shadowy silent distance between them that symbolizes the mystery that constitutes these creative and destructive halves
that we don't fully understand.
SYMBOL ANALYSIS - VANITY
The poet makes one of man's biggest weaknesses out to be part of the very reason why we might find ourselves at the bottom of the sea. All of the pretty things we associate with vanity, like jewels and mirrors, likewise find themselves in the sea all washed up and totally
useless.
Lines 1-2: Right from the very beginning the
sea is depicted as being far away from human
vanity. So we know that this poem is going to
draw some pretty clear distinctions between
what man sees as important and what nature
reminds us isn't.
Lines 9-11: The mirrors that were meant to frame such opulence are the first symbols we see. Slimy sea worms crawl all over one
too, which provides some neat, if creepy, imagery related to human vanity.
Lines 12-14: The pretty jewels are just
as lightless and useless as the mirrors
and are "bleared, black, and blind" since
there's no light down there to show them
off. So all of the things that were meant
to impress do quite the opposite in the
sea.
SYMBOL ANALYSIS - IMMANENT WILL
The speaker doesn't tell us, though, if it's that same
Immanent Will or "paths coincident" that's to be
blamed for bringing the Titanic down. The readers do
get the feeling that there is a kind of ominous presence
that unites all things in the poem, so whether creative
or destructive, there's no denying its influence.
Lines 16-18: That Immanent Will gets everything moving whether we're aware
of it or not. So it's behind the construction of both the Titanic and its
sinister mate, the Iceberg.
Lines 31-33: And behind the Immanent Will is a
"Spinner of the Years" that gives the final signal for
the collision of two hemispheres (ship and iceberg). By
that time it's too late of course so although the
Immanent Will might stir all things, it's virtually
impossible to tell when and where worlds will collide.
FORM AND METER
"The Convergence of the Twain" is neatly organized into 11 stanzas, with three lines each that share a similar rhyme of AAA. That means that each stanza contains three consecutive end rhymes. That helps to mimics the tide with a predictable wave of returning
sounds.
Form-wise, we get two short lines in each
stanza, followed by a longer line. The short
lines set the scene for the speaker's realization,
which comes in the longer line.
We're introduced to the effects of this
Immanent Will, and then in the longer line
introduced to the concept of this big, invisible
force just doing whatever it wants to anything
and everyone.
Interestingly enough, the poem itself discusses
two concepts (man's plans, work, and vanity
versus nature's sheer power) and then goes on
to make a longer realization about their
interaction. In this way, the stanzas are
organized in the same way that the poem as a
whole takes shape.
Finally, the meter of this poem rarely exists. There may be some coincidental rhythms among the shorter lines, but nothing regular enough to be called a formal meter. The randomness that the natural world imposes on man's plans and
possessions is carried out in the irregular beats of each line.