In "The Convergence of the Twain" the poet is describing the tragedy of the Titanic. A lot of personification is used throughout this poem. The fish and sea creatures "query" and "gaze" at the objects that now occupy their home in the sea. Through the personification of the fish, I was really able to imagine what Thomas Hardy may have been trying to convey to the reader.
I found the word "vanity" to be an important one in the first stanza of the poem. Mostly all of the people on the Titanic were vain, pompous, rich people. Yet, all of their belongings are now alongside the sea-worms and fish. To the passengers, all of their belongings meant everything to them. Their belongings defined who they were and where they stood in society. The passengers and the ship itself represented the high class in society, but now it is nothing but a part of the sea. I feel like this is somewhat ironic. These people were so focused on the pleasures and objects of life and in the end, it got them no where.
I inferred that the last stanza is referring to God when talking about "The Spinner of the Years". I also inferred that this was the way of the poet speaking of the inevitability of the sinking of the ship. When such vain people and extravagant objects located all throughout the ship are put together, there is no real purpose other than pleasure. Two different worlds are created. A world for God and a world of materialism. The Titanic was a world of materialism.
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