"The Convergence of the Twain" by Thomas Hardy

While most people are aware of one of history’s most famous events, the sinking of the luxury ship the Titanic, Thomas Hardy’s poem “The Convergence of the Twain” captures the true essence of the event. The Titanic was created to be the most luxurious and glamorous ship ever built – a supposedly unsinkable vessel. It carried the hopes and dreams of many people for a new life, yet its sinking destroyed those dreams. In his poem, Hardy displays the true cause of the disaster and the lack of any good that came from it. In regard to the fate of the ship, the poem states that it lies, “In a solitude of the sea, deep from human vanity,” (Hardy, 778). This line proves how the carelessness and vanity of humans caused such a disaster. Because the ship was supposed to look elegant, life boats were removed. Because the ship was supposed to be fast, speeds were increased to dangerous levels. Hardy writes how the vanity of humans can lead to disaster when it overtakes common sense and reason. Furthermore, Hardy portrays the worthlessness of vanity. So much money was spent on making the Titanic beautiful, yet because of the lack of care of humans, the only things admiring the beauty of the ship now are the fish at the bottom of the ocean. Through his poem, Hardy not only remembers the terrible disaster of the early 1900’s but also warns humanity of the dangers of vanity.