“The Convergence of the Twain” Introduction

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“The Convergence of the Twain” Summary

“The Convergence of the Twain” Themes

• 

  Human Hubris vs. Nature's Power

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• 

  Fate and Human Powerlessness

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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Convergence of the Twain”

• Lines 1-3

  In a solitude of the sea
              Deep from human vanity,
  And the Pride of Life that planned her, stilly couches she.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 4-6

      Steel chambers, late the pyres
              Of her salamandrine fires,
  Cold currents thrid, and turn to rhythmic tidal lyres.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 7-9

  Over the mirrors meant
              To glass the opulent
  The sea-worm crawls — grotesque, slimed, dumb, indifferent.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 10-12

   Jewels in joy designed
              To ravish the sensuous mind
  Lie lightless, all their sparkles bleared and black and blind.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 13-15

  Dim moon-eyed fishes near
              Gaze at the gilded gear
  And query: "What does this vaingloriousness down here?" ...

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 16-18

  Well: while was fashioning
              This creature of cleaving wing,
  The Immanent Will that stirs and urges everything

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 19-21

   Prepared a sinister mate
              For her — so gaily great —
  A Shape of Ice, for the time far and dissociate.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 22-24

  And as the smart ship grew
              In stature, grace, and hue,
  In shadowy silent distance grew the Iceberg too.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 25-27

  Alien they seemed to be;
              No mortal eye could see
  The intimate welding of their later history,

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 28-30

  Or sign that they were bent
              By paths coincident
  On being anon twin halves of one august event,

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 31-32

  Till the Spinner of the Years
              Said "Now!"

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 32-33

  And each one hears,
  And consummation comes, and jars two hemispheres.

  

  

  

  

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“The Convergence of the Twain” Symbols

• 

  The Titanic

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“The Convergence of the Twain” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Irony

  

  

  

  

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• Allusion

  

  

  

  

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• Juxtaposition

  

  

  

  

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• Imagery

  

  

  

  

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• Personification

  

  

  

  

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• Climax (Figure of Speech)

  

  

  

  

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• Enjambment

  

  

  

  

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• Consonance

  

  

  

  

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“The Convergence of the Twain” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Titanic
• Vanity
• Pride of Life
• Stilly
• Couches
• Chambers
• Pyres
• Salamandrine
• Thrid
• Lyres
• Glass
• Opulent
• Grotesque
• Dumb
• Indifferent
• Ravish
• Sensuous
• Bleared
• Gilded
• Gear
• Query
• Vaingloriousness
• Creature of cleaving wing
• Immanent Will
• Stirs
• Urges
• Gaily
• Dissociate
• Smart
• Stature
• Grace
• Hue
• Alien
• Intimate
• Welding
• Bent
• Coincident
• Anon
• August
• Spinner of the Years
• Consummation

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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Convergence of the Twain”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“The Convergence of the Twain” Speaker

“The Convergence of the Twain” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “The Convergence of the Twain”

More “The Convergence of the Twain” Resources

• External Resources

  • Thomas Hardy's Biography — A biography of the poet, with an emphasis on his development as a writer and the themes that run throughout his work.

  • The Poem Out Loud — A recitation of the poem by Ian Whitcomb, a British musician.

  • Poetry and the Titanic — An article from the Library of Congress on how the public used poetry to respond to the sinking, with links to other poems about the ship.

  • Timeline of the Titanic — An interactive timeline of the building, sailing, and sinking of the ship.

  • Titanic Relief Efforts — Images of programs from three different fundraising events for victims of the Titanic, including the program in which Hardy's poem was first published.

• LitCharts on Other Poems by Thomas Hardy

  • A Broken Appointment

  • Afterwards

  • At an Inn

  • At Castle Boterel

  • A Wife in London

  • Channel Firing

  • Drummer Hodge

  • Hap

  • He Never Expected Much

  • Neutral Tones

  • The Darkling Thrush

  • The Man He Killed

  • The Oxen

  • The Ruined Maid

  • The Voice

  • Weathers

  • Where the Picnic Was