The Convergence Of The Twain

-> The poem The Convergence of the Twain, by Thomas Hardy, is about the sinking of the Titanic. The title alone describes the ship and the iceberg meeting as one. By choosing this title, the author automatically conveys a seriousness of the poem. The author uses various literary techniques to convey his mockery and careless attitude towards the sinking of the ship.

-> In the first five stanzas, the author discusses the already submerged ship. "Stilly couches she," describes the ship resting on the bottom of the ocean. The lines, "Jewels in joy designed...lie lightless, all their sparkles bleared and black and blind", point out the waste of money, technology and craftsmanship going down with the ship which is consistently mentioned in these stanzas. In the next six stanzas he describes the iceberg and the ship meeting together as one in destiny.

-> The use of personification found in the last five stanzas gives the ship its own power. The author refers to the ship as "her" which makes the ship sound as though it has a mind of its own. The ship is also described as "smart and growing in grace, stature, and hue." This means that the ship was growing in confidence. "She" thought she was untouchable and unsinkable. His attitude reflects his thoughts that the ship was on route to destiny, and no kind of human powers could stop it.

-> The next literary technique used is irony. The lines "Over the mirrors meant To glass the opulent the sea-worm crawls-grotesque, slimed, dumb, indifferent," (stanza III) shows that the glamorous things were now nothing more than a sea floor for the worms. Also all the jewels that were present on the ship, being worn by first-class passengers were now sitting at the bottom of the ocean floor. The usage of irony represents the loss of the ship, instead of the loss of life. These lines are indicative of the author's attitude towards what the ship