The Convergence of the Twain Literary Elements

“The Convergence of the Twain” is told from the third-person omniscient point-of-view by an unidentified speaker.

“The Convergence of the Twain” is organized into eleven three-line stanzas that are numbered with roman numerals (I-XI). It follows an AAA rhyme scheme with true end rhymes ending each line of a given stanza. The poem does not use a regular meter.

Starting from the seventh stanza, the poem utilizes an extended metaphor in which the Titanic and the iceberg are cast as bride and groom, respectively. In the second stanza, the cold ocean currents are metaphorically compared to "lyres," or musical instruments. In the tenth stanza, the speaker uses metaphor to compare the crash to an astrological movement.

Alliteration in “The Convergence of the Twain” serves to emphasize humanity’s vanity by drawing attention to key phrases which underscore the ostentatiousness of the Titanic. For example, alliteration highlights the phrase “jewels in joy” (10) and juxtaposes it with “bleared and black and blind” (12), illustrating the fate of the luxurious items on the ship. Moreover, the sibilance of certain phrases in the poem highlights key details of the Titanic’s situation. The “solitude of the sea” (1) employs sibilance in order to emphasize the loneliness and isolation attributed to open waters by suggesting the soft sounds of water on water. The phrase “shadowy silent distance” (24) uses sibilance differently, to create a foreboding, hissing tone.

The irony in “The Convergence of the Twain” stems from the theme of hubristic mankind. Despite humanity taking time to decorate and engineer the Titanic to be seemingly unsinkable, it seems that nature created an iceberg that was specifically meant to trump the power of the ocean liner.

Moreover, there is dramatic irony inherent to “The Convergence of the Twain” because the Titanic’s sinking was a historical event; the reader knows that the ship will sink, but the engineers and passengers did not.

Occasional Poetry; Elegy; Metaphysical Poetry

The poem centers around the Titanic's travel route from Southampton to New York City across the Atlantic Ocean, Apr 14, 1912 – Apr 15, 1912. Although parts of the poem describe the crash itself, the span of the poem is much broader in both time and space. The first stanzas are set long after the crash, and deep underwater. Later in the poem, the speaker describes the separate constructions of both the iceberg and the ship, before the crash and far away from where the catastrophe eventually occurred.

The tone of “The Convergence of the Twain” reflects the speaker’s critical view of mankind's vanity, which leads humans to create a ship of such doomed opulence. However, it can also be interpreted as neutral and objective. The speaker expresses no emotion over the tragedy and simply recounts the events in a metaphysical manner by making the crash representative of the broader conflict between man and nature.

“The Convergence of the Twain” maintains ambiguity around the identity of both protagonist and antagonist. Humanity and the Titanic can be seen as the antagonist because of their excessive opulence. However, they can also be seen as failed protagonists pitted against the “Spinner of the [Years’s]” (31) absolute and unfair justice.

The major conflict is external and is between man versus nature, man versus fate, or man versus God depending on the interpretation. The man-made ship of the Titanic was destined to crash into the iceberg based upon the “Immanent Will” (18) as a result of its offensive opulence. Thus, the Titanic is symbolic of the pride and vanity of humanity in opposition to the natural power of God or fate which is exhibited through the iceberg. Therefore, by depicting the hubris and vanity of mankind against the omnipotent, the poem serves to demonstrate the inevitable defeat of mankind by immortal power in conflict, thereby reinforcing the futility of mortal man against the powers of the universe. Despite this edge of conflict, the poem ultimately portrays the downfall of the Titanic as inevitable, and the power of the "Immanent Will" as total.

The climax of “The Convergence of the Twain” occurs in the final stanza when the “Spinner of the Years" (31) commands the Titanic and the iceberg to come together, causing the crash.

The inevitable sinking of the Titanic is foreshadowed by the creation of the iceberg by “The Immanent Will” (18) and its insidious lurking in “shadowy silent distance” (24) as it awaited its ultimate consummation with the ship in the tragic accident.

Despite the tragic loss of 1,000 lives, human death is never referred to in this account of the sinking of the Titanic.

The phrases “The Immanent Will” (18) and the “Spinner of the Years” (31) could be alluding to God and His absolute justice as He controls aspects of nature that destroy the sinful opulence of mankind. Alternately, these personifications may refer to fate more broadly, and possibly to the Classical personification of fate as women spinning yarn.

The last two stanzas, in which the two spheres of the earth are reunited, may be alluding to Aristophanes' story of early mankind in Plato's Symposium. In the legend, humans were originally spheres with two heads and four legs. When they became too powerful, the gods punished them by splitting the spheres. The two halves would pursue each other forever as soulmates.

In the first stanza, the speaker uses the personification "Pride of Life" to stand in for humanity.

The Titanic and the iceberg are personified by being represented as bride and groom. The ship is given feminine qualities, taking advantage of the standard usage of female pronouns to refer to ships. In contrast, the iceberg is described as her “sinister mate,” and is implicitly masculinized(16).
Hardy capitalizes "Pride of Life," personifying human vanity as an independent actor in conflict with fate. Hardy also capitalizes "Immanent Will" and "Spinner of the Years," similarly giving autonomy to fate.