"The Convergence of the Twain," subtitled, "Lines on the loss of the Titanic," was written by English poet Thomas Hardy for the Titanic Disaster Fund. The Titanic, a luxurious ship believed to be unsinkable, infamously collided with an iceberg and sank on April 15, 1912, killing over 1,500 people. Hardy's poem is a chilling meditation on human vanity and powerlessness before the indifferent, destructive powers of nature.
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The Full Text of “The Convergence of the Twain”
(Lines on the loss of the "Titanic")
I
1 In a solitude of the sea
2 Deep from human vanity,
3And the Pride of Life that planned her, stilly couches she.
II
4 Steel chambers, late the pyres
5 Of her salamandrine fires,
6Cold currents thrid, and turn to rhythmic tidal lyres.
III
7 Over the mirrors meant
8 To glass the opulent
9The sea-worm crawls — grotesque, slimed, dumb, indifferent.
IV
10 Jewels in joy designed
11 To ravish the sensuous mind
12Lie lightless, all their sparkles bleared and black and blind.
V
13 Dim moon-eyed fishes near
14 Gaze at the gilded gear
15And query: "What does this vaingloriousness down here?" ...
VI
16 Well: while was fashioning
17 This creature of cleaving wing,
18The Immanent Will that stirs and urges everything
VII
19 Prepared a sinister mate
20 For her — so gaily great —
21A Shape of Ice, for the time far and dissociate.
VIII
22 And as the smart ship grew
23 In stature, grace, and hue,
24In shadowy silent distance grew the Iceberg too.
IX
25 Alien they seemed to be;
26 No mortal eye could see
27The intimate welding of their later history,
X
28 Or sign that they were bent
29 By paths coincident
30On being anon twin halves of one august event,
XI
31 Till the Spinner of the Years
32 Said "Now!" And each one hears,
33And consummation comes, and jars two hemispheres.
The Full Text of “The Convergence of the Twain”
(Lines on the loss of the "Titanic")
I
1 In a solitude of the sea
2 Deep from human vanity,
3And the Pride of Life that planned her, stilly couches she.
II
4 Steel chambers, late the pyres
5 Of her salamandrine fires,
6Cold currents thrid, and turn to rhythmic tidal lyres.
III
7 Over the mirrors meant
8 To glass the opulent
9The sea-worm crawls — grotesque, slimed, dumb, indifferent.
IV
10 Jewels in joy designed
11 To ravish the sensuous mind
12Lie lightless, all their sparkles bleared and black and blind.
V
13 Dim moon-eyed fishes near
14 Gaze at the gilded gear
15And query: "What does this vaingloriousness down here?" ...
VI
16 Well: while was fashioning
17 This creature of cleaving wing,
18The Immanent Will that stirs and urges everything
VII
19 Prepared a sinister mate
20 For her — so gaily great —
21A Shape of Ice, for the time far and dissociate.
VIII
22 And as the smart ship grew
23 In stature, grace, and hue,
24In shadowy silent distance grew the Iceberg too.
IX
25 Alien they seemed to be;
26 No mortal eye could see
27The intimate welding of their later history,
X
28 Or sign that they were bent
29 By paths coincident
30On being anon twin halves of one august event,
XI
31 Till the Spinner of the Years
32 Said "Now!" And each one hears,
33And consummation comes, and jars two hemispheres.
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“The Convergence of the Twain” Summary
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“The Convergence of the Twain” Themes
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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”
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Lines 1-3
In a solitude of the sea
Deep from human vanity,
And the Pride of Life that planned her, stilly couches she. -
Lines 4-6
Steel chambers, late the pyres
Of her salamandrine fires,
Cold currents thrid, and turn to rhythmic tidal lyres. -
Lines 7-9
Over the mirrors meant
To glass the opulent
The sea-worm crawls — grotesque, slimed, dumb, indifferent. -
Lines 10-12
Jewels in joy designed
To ravish the sensuous mind
Lie lightless, all their sparkles bleared and black and blind. -
Lines 13-15
Dim moon-eyed fishes near
Gaze at the gilded gear
And query: "What does this vaingloriousness down here?" ... -
Lines 16-18
Well: while was fashioning
This creature of cleaving wing,
The Immanent Will that stirs and urges everything -
Lines 19-21
Prepared a sinister mate
For her — so gaily great —
A Shape of Ice, for the time far and dissociate. -
Lines 22-24
And as the smart ship grew
In stature, grace, and hue,
In shadowy silent distance grew the Iceberg too. -
Lines 25-27
Alien they seemed to be;
No mortal eye could see
The intimate welding of their later history, -
Lines 28-30
Or sign that they were bent
By paths coincident
On being anon twin halves of one august event, -
Lines 31-32
Till the Spinner of the Years
Said "Now!" -
Lines 32-33
And each one hears,
And consummation comes, and jars two hemispheres.
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“The Convergence of the Twain” Symbols
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The Titanic
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“The Convergence of the Twain” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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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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- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Convergence of the Twain”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“The Convergence of the Twain” Speaker
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“The Convergence of the Twain” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “The Convergence of the Twain”
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More “The Convergence of the Twain” Resources
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External Resources
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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.
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The Poem Out Loud — A recitation of the poem by Ian Whitcomb, a British musician.
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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.
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Timeline of the Titanic — An interactive timeline of the building, sailing, and sinking of the ship.
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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.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Thomas Hardy
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