Convergence of the twain

Analysis

1. THE CONVERGENCE OF THE TWAIN – THOMAS HARDY ANALYSIS

2.   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."

3. 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. 

4. 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. 

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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. 

8. Lines 9-11: The mirrors that were meant to frame such opulence are the first symbols we see. S limy sea worms crawl all over one too, which provides some neat, if creepy,  imagery related to human vanity.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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. 

12. 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.

13. 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.  

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. 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.