This poem
was published in volume I of the “The Collected Poems” (1909-1939). In this
poem the poet made a scathing attack on the capitalist system in U.S. during
the great depression (1930’s). This poem is an eleven-stanza poem that is
divided into tercets or sets of three lines written in free verse without any
specific rhyme scheme or metrical pattern.
In the first two stanzas the mighty destructive and uncontrollable power of the ocean is described. Personification plays a major role in this poem. The yachts are almost shown as alive. The yachts symbolize the rich section of the society who flourished despite the economic depression. The yachts were sailing in a semi-protected area of water though the ocean outside is rough and ungoverned.
The sea can toss the biggest hulls and sink
them mercilessly like moths in the mist of its turbulent waves. The best man or the most skilled navigator
knows how difficult it is to remain safe against its beatings. The sea is moody
and touches the smooth sides of the yachts as if to find any flaw in them. The
sea is powerful enough to sink them pitilessly. Though the crew works smoothly,
the poet does not hesitate to indicate how small they are in comparison to the
ship as a whole in the ocean.
The third
and fourth stanzas drift away from the chaotic imagery of the ocean and
describe the movements of the yachts and their crew. The yachts glide “with
broad, bellying sails” tossing green waters of the sea against their prows. The crew crawl over them like ants adjusting
the sails to catch the winds and go in the right direction.
In fourth
and fifth stanzas the poet describes how the yachts are followed by the lesser
vessels on which other men and women were sailing. They seem to be humble and
move slowly in a random manner. They represent the struggling poor and
middle-class people.
The sixth and seventh stanzas describe the
secure and safe position of the yachts in midst of raging waves. The yachts are
feckless and free like horses set ready to start in a race as they are
well-made and equipped to sail with speed. They appear youthful and carefree as
“the light of a happy eye.”
The eighth
and ninth stanzas describe the pitiable condition of the lesser boats which are
shattered by the waves of the sea. “It is a sea of faces about them in agony, in
despair.” The whole sea became “an entanglement of watery bodies” desperately
struggling to grasp at the sides of the yachts hoping for salvation. The yachts
pass over unconcerned for the suffering of their fellow humans. The eighth and
ninth stanzas portray the competitive spirit on the ocean. The waves outside
the yachts symbolize the great depression, economic inequality and confronting
challenges. The yachts are “too well made and they survive the adverse effects
of the great depression. They are under the command of men and who lead them
safe out of the consequences of unfair economic policies and sufferings caused
by the great depression.
The tenth
and eleventh stanzas reiterate the fate of the struggling poor people in times
of economic depression in a symbolic way. They are like drowning people crying
for help. The dark and disturbing imagery serves as a powerful contrast against
the peaceful and seemingly beautiful sailing yachts described in the third and
fourth stanzas. The ocean is filled with struggling people. They are trying to
hold on to the ships that sail through them. But they are left to their fate
while the yachts smoothly pass over them.
The
impoverished condition of the people discarded by the economic system of
capitalism. They are dead or dying without getting any help. The sea is “an
entanglement of watery bodies/ lost to the world bearing what they cannot
hold.” They are “broken, beaten,
desolate” and they “cry out, failing, failing.” Their piteous cries for help
rise like waves, but the skillful yachts recklessly pass over them without
showing any mercy. The wealthy and well-off symbolized by the yachts triumph
over that of poor. The rich winners of this economic battle discard and exploit
the poor and sail over them on their way to safe future. There is no
sentimentality in the speaker’s description.
The message
is that in a capitalist system especially during the American great depression
during 1930’s, the wealthy always triumphed over the poor and they felt least
concerned about the tragic fate of the struggling poor and underprivileged
people. This message is symbolically conveyed through the image of the yachts
navigating through a sea of desperate and dying bodies. The yachts are also
symbols for slave ships on which the most horrifying atrocities were committed.
In this artistic and graceful poem, the poet suggests that the outward beauty of the capitalist system is akin to the illusion shown by F. Scott Fitzgerald’s hero in his novel “Great Gatsby.” Capitalism demands competition and indifference to suffering masses. Sinclair’s novel “The Jungle” in more realistic terms reveals the plight of jobless men and women though the Chicago’s bosses rescue a fortunate few. Similarly in this poem, the horror of class war, inequality in income, viciousness against the weak and helpless, and exploitations of the poor are revealed through symbols and artistic use of language.
The use of enjambment with lack of punctuation and the use of first letter in lower case at the beginning of every stanza line to suggest the poet’s priority for the oppressed majority. Though the poem is in free verse form, the poet used figures of speech like assonance in words like: encloses -blows; Knows – blows. Alliteration was used in word: Biggest and best. The desperation of the drowning men and women is reflected through the poet’s use of short and choppy sentences in the last three stanzas in contrast with the long and lyrical lines that began the poem. “Broken/ beaten, desolate, reaching from the dead to be taken up/ they cry out, failing, failing! / their cries rising/ in waves still as the skillful yachts pass over.”
The poet used personification and symbolism to express his views on Capitalism. The yachts represent the rich capitalists, wealth, freedom, youth and comfort zone. This poem is a typical specimen of Imagist poetry. The poet expressed his views clearly through the image of yachts personifying it and adding symbolic meaning to it. The language is simple and lucid without any abstract and vague implications. The poet used free verse without any ornamentation. He used literary devices which seem to be natural and contribute to the effect of the poem.
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16th October, 2023 Somaseshu Gutala
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