An Analysis Of Thomas Hardy's 'The Convergence Of The Twain'

Questions for Assignment 12: Please answer the following questions in paragraph responses, using properly cited quotes to support your answers and reading carefully for grammatical errors and wordiness before submitting this portion of the assignment for marks. Answers should be 150-250 words each in length.

Define and explain the tone in both poems. Was the tone easy to identify?

After reading both poems, the sentimental tone can be easily identified through the use of diction. Some phrases that suggest this sentimental tone can be found in Crane 's poem "My Grandmother 's Love Letters" when she states "here are no stars to-night/ but those of memory" (line 1-2), and in Thomas 's poem, "Convergence Of The Twain", when the speaker describes

When reading "The Convergence Of The Twain" by Thomas Hardy, I envision an elder mature gentleman who is about fifty years old with a hoary voice standing in front of a French ocean view window of a tall building. Having his hair cut short and combed back, he slowly and gracefully rotates the glass with whisky and ice. The moon light shines on his dark gray suit and splendent on his shoes as he looks at the sea, lost in his thoughts.

In a stark contrast, when reading Harold Hart Crane 's poem "My Grandmother 's Lover Letters", I envision a blond teenage girl with her hair tied into a ponytail who is at the most beautiful age of twenty with a soft voice like a lark, wearing oversized sweater, puffy pants, and a pair a comfortable cotton slippers. She is sitting in a dusty timeworn attic with very little furniture, and a small window. The sound of the rain dropping on the roof, the raining scene, as well as the view of her back form a painting depicting the girl 's loneliness.

3) Please read stanzas 7-10 in the poem 'The Convergence of the Twain ' and explain the significant event that is described. Why is the ship described as 'prepared for a sinister mate ' (Hardy 19). What is the tone of these

It trembles as birch limbs webbing the air" (line 14-15)is a rhyming couplet which is being placed in the middle of the poem. The speaker utilizes metaphor to illustrate sentimentalism. The "invisible white hair" (line 14)is a symbol of the connection between the narrator and his grandmother who has passed away. Just like white hair, which is thin, feeble, light, and fragile, the only connection the speaker has with his grandmother is the frail love letter he has found and the faint memories from the past. When looking at the image of white hair, the concept that immediately comes to my mind is old age and elder hood, therefore, there is a strong relation of "white hair"(line 14) to his grandmother. The light hair is unable to hold the weight of the heaviness of the memory, therefore, it is "trembl[ing] as birch limbs webbing the air"(line 14). The word invisible suggests the connection between the speaker and his grandmother which is unable to be seen physically. The birches are symbols of loyalty and steadfastness; in this particular situation, the speaker is relating this to his grandmother.