Not Waving but Drowning
- Submitted by: addi
- Views: 1090
- Category: English: Poetic Works
- Date Submitted: 03/29/2010 07:12 PM
- Pages: 2
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Not Waving But Drowning by Stevie Smith is a poem about someone who felt isolated because he was maybe misunderstood by the people around him. Stevie Smith helped me appreciate the theme of his poem by adding imagery, figures of speech, formal diction, and an ambiguous tone.
In the first few lines of this poem I felt that the imagery of this drowned man was that he was isolated both physically and emotionally. The first two lines talks about how nobody heard this dead man laying still moaning. This could mean that he was so far away that no one could hear him, or it could mean that he was so alone and isolated in the world that he had no one to go to for help or to talk to. The imagery in this poem helped convey this man’s situation. It had a big impact on the poem and what was communicated in the theme.
The formal diction in this poem helps to show how serious the poem is. It says to me that the character and maybe even Stevie Smith are very emotional and lonely. In line four when it talks about being much further out than you thought and that he was not waving but drowning. This says to me that this man was so far out and so alone, more than anyone even thought. And when they thought he was just waving with his hands in the air, trying to get help, no one would pay him any attention because they just thought he was waving when really he was begging for help.
I felt this was a good poem. I had to read it a few times to really understand what was being said. But I think that what I got from it is that people can feel or make someone feel isolated through misunderstanding the people around them. if someone is feeling isolated and alone, this can really have a big impact on their life. People were so mentally distant from this man that it was not clear to anyone what was really going through his mind.
In the first few lines of this poem I felt that the imagery of this drowned man was that he was isolated both physically and emotionally. The first two lines talks about how nobody heard this dead man laying still moaning. This could mean that he was so far away that no one could hear him, or it could mean that he was so alone and isolated in the world that he had no one to go to for help or to talk to. The imagery in this poem helped convey this man’s situation. It had a big impact on the poem and what was communicated in the theme.
The formal diction in this poem helps to show how serious the poem is. It says to me that the character and maybe even Stevie Smith are very emotional and lonely. In line four when it talks about being much further out than you thought and that he was not waving but drowning. This says to me that this man was so far out and so alone, more than anyone even thought. And when they thought he was just waving with his hands in the air, trying to get help, no one would pay him any attention because they just thought he was waving when really he was begging for help.
I felt this was a good poem. I had to read it a few times to really understand what was being said. But I think that what I got from it is that people can feel or make someone feel isolated through misunderstanding the people around them. if someone is feeling isolated and alone, this can really have a big impact on their life. People were so mentally distant from this man that it was not clear to anyone what was really going through his mind.