The Shipwreck-Emily Dickinson
The Shipwreck-Emily Dickinson
Poem
Poet
Emily Dickinson
Form/ Structure
4 quatrains
2nd & 4th line of each stanza rhyme
Title Reference
Refers to a specific shipwreck: 40 people died & only 4 survived
Message
Impact of loss of life due to natural disasters
Theme
Death & Mortality
Mourning
Surviving a disaster
Mood
Stanza 1 & 2: Cheerful/ jubilant
Stanza 3&4: Brooding/ gloomy/ sombre
Tone
Stanza 1 & 2: Celebratory/ Euphoric/ Ecstatic
Stanza 3 & 4: Sorrowful/ mournful
Figurative devices
L3 Euphemism
L4 Metaphor
L5-6 Antithesis & Sibilance
L8 Sibilance
L10 Personification
L13 Sibilance
L16 Personification
SUMMARY
This poem is about an actual shipwreck in which 40 people lost their lives. The poem contrasts the joy at the survival of four people and the sorrow that 40 people died. It is this sorrow/loss that us the focus of stanzas three and four. The tale is told to children on a cold winter night. The speaker’s sorrow is clear and there is no empty cliché offered as “only the waves reply”.
ANALYSIS
STANZA 1
LINE 1
Glee! The great storm is over!
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Glee! – Joyous mood. There is reason to be very happy. This is emphasised by the !
Great – alludes to a terrible storm.
The great storm is over! – conveys a sense of relief. The ! emphasises that the people have something to celebrate.
The first line is ironic. While the people are relieved that the storm is over, 40 people died as a result of this storm.
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LINE 2
Four have recovered the land;
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Recovered – survived.
There were 4 survivors. This small number of survivors implies that there were others who did not survive.
recovered the land – They made it back to land/shore. They survived the shipwreck.
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LINE 3
Forty gone down together
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gone down - Euphemism: died
together – all them drowned.
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LINE 4
Into the boiling sand.
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The “boiling sand” implies a very rough sea, with huge waves that it seemed to churn up the sand at the bottom of the sea.
This emphasises the violent nature of the storm and shocks the reader.
There is a complete change in the tone to that in line 1: celebration turns to grief, mourning.
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STANZA 2
LINE 5
Ring, for the scant salvation!
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Ring – They ring the town bell to draw the attention of the people.
Scant – very few
scant salvation! – they are thankful that there were 4 survivors. The ! emphasises that very few survived.
It also implies that they cannot really celebrate those who survived because it will be tainted by the loss of so many others.
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LINE 6
Toll, for the bonnie souls, -
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Toll – refers to the ringing of the church bell. This is a funeral bell for the forty who drowned. This evokes the sound of a bell ringing slowly and repetitively, usually a sign that someone has died. This contrasts with line 5: ‘Ring!’ evokes the sound of bells ringing in celebration
bonnie – beloved
souls – emphasises their death
The dash after souls provides a description of who died.
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LINE 7
Neighbour and friend and bridegroom,
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This makes it personal – the deceased were members of the community who were known to all. Bridegroom increases the shock of their death. He had just started a new life. Also implies that his wife was one of the survivors. We cannot imagine her grief.
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LINE 8
Spinning upon the shoals!
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shoals! – refers to a place where sea is shallow.
Spinning – the people are being tossed around helplessly in the shallow waters.
The irony is that they did not die in the middle of the ocean. They were close to the shore. However, the people had no control of their movement because of the extremely violent storm and the mountainous waves that sent them Spinning.
This emphasises the fate of those who drowned. Leaves one feeling shocked.
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STANZA 3
LINE 9
How they will tell the shipwreck
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What explanation will they give.
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LINE 10
When winter shakes the door,
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Winter is associated with death. Literally, the personification refers the door shaking because of the cold and windy conditions. Figuratively, the personification refers to the death of the forty people; door is symbolic of their life.
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LINE 11
Till the children ask, ‘But the forty?
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The initial celebration to offer thanks for the survival of the four will stop when children start asking questions.
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LINE 12
Did they come back no more?’
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Emphasises that they could give the children a suitable explanation. The disbelief of the children is evident in this question:
Are you sure that they will not return?
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STANZA 4
LINE 13
Then a silence suffuses the story,
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When the children questioned what had happened, silence gradually spread (suffuse) among the adults as they could not offer any explanation that would help the children come to terms with their loss.
There is a mournful tone at the loss of so many innocent people.
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LINE 14
And a softness the teller's eye;
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This creates a sombre tone as the storyteller is reminded of the deaths and how they have all lost a love one.
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LINE 15
And the children no further question,
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Children sense the difficulty of the adults.
no further question – implies that the children have understood that the forty have died. Their sorrow and grief cause them
to stop asking questions. This emphasises the pathos (sense of pity).
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LINE 16
And only the waves reply.
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This emphasises the silence of the adults and the children. There is no empty platitude (cliché saying) that will offer comfort.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Identify and explain the mood in line 1.
The exclamation ‘Glee!’ creates a mood of joy/happiness/relief that the danger presented by the storm has passed. (2)
Refer to line 7; ‘Neighbour and friend and bridegroom’.
Explain why the victims of the shipwreck are described in this manner.
The words acknowledge the close and varied relationships that exist between people in the community; this intensifies the sense of loss and makes the tragedy more personal and real./The deceased were part of a community and each one may have left behind a loved one, thus intensifying their loss.(2)
Refer to lines 3-4: ‘Forty gone down together/Into the boiling sand.’
Identify the figure of speech used in these lines.
Metaphor / euphemism (1)
Comment on the effectiveness of this image.
The storm has caused huge surges of water to stir up the ocean bed and has created a dangerous concoction of sand and water. The turbulent, whirling motion of the rough sea is similar to the bubbling movement of boiling water. The image is effective because it emphasises the violence and terror of the forty people who lost their lives under such horrific circumstances. (2)
Refer to lines 13-16: ‘Then a silence ... the waves reply.’
Critically discuss the effectiveness of these lines as a conclusion to the poem.
The last stanza is effective as it conveys the finality of death and the idea that nature is a powerful force; people are at the mercy of nature and it cannot be controlled. There is a poignant acceptance of the mysterious workings of nature.
The children realise that there is no way of explaining a natural disaster that claims so many lives. There is an acknowledgment that ‘only the waves' have the answers; there are some things that are inexplicable and beyond the comprehension of people. (3)
What is the effect of the exclamation marks in lines 1 and 5? How does this contrast to the exclamation mark used in line 8?
The exclamation marks in lines 1 and 5 are celebratory — there are survivors. The exclamation mark in line 8 brings a sense of sorrow and shock. So many died in the shipwreck. (2)
What does the phrase ‘scant salvation’ (line 5) suggest?
Although forty people perished in the storm, there were at least four survivors.
‘Scant’ refers to few. It could also imply that the celebration of those who survived will be tainted by the loss of so many others/ only a few managed to survive.
Refer to line 13. “...silence suffuses the story”.
Critically comment on the tone in these lines.
The tone is sombre/melancholic/depressed. The storyteller is feeling sad when they relive the events of the story of the death of the forty people who died in the shipwreck and the sadness of them having lost loved ones there is nothing to say about this loss. (3)
In what way, do you think, this poem, written two centuries ago, could still resonate with readers today?
Own answer. [While we have fewer ships sinking today, the 21st century is not immune to disasters of epic proportions. Think of the 9/11 bombings and the stories of these survivors. In fact, the first line of the poem seems apt now: “the great storm is over’ and we are happy to get back to normal after the Covid pandemic. However, many of us lost loved ones or suffered in ways because of lockdown. Think about some of the stories we will tell our children.]
[Mark valid answers. Stories documenting tragedies where there were still survivors.] (3)