Potpourri Unit 1

The Convergence of the Twain
Thomas Hardy

In The Convergence of the Twain, Hardy's use of the subtitle helps contribute to the meaning of the work. The subtitle provided says: (Lines on the loss of the 'Titanic') which helps clarify the fact that the poem is in fact about the Titanic. The poem describes the events preceding and following the ship crashing into an iceberg. The crash itself is made clear by Hardy's use of diction. He says that the ship seemed extravagant in "stature, grace, and hue"(Hardy, 779). The speaker describes says that the ship and the iceberg were "alien" and "no mortal eye could see the intimate welding of their later history"(Hardy, 779). This shows that no one predicted that the ship would take such a terrible hit. I feel as though this can relate to any situation in life today. Many times, the two most unlikely elements can prove to come into contact somehow. The fact that an extravagant ship and a treacherous iceberg may have seemed unlikely to most; however, their "wedding" was one that will always be historically remembered.