Convergence of the twain

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.