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READ THIS
The poet examines in an almost playful manner the implications of someone suffering psychological
distancing from society, where the person becomes mentally or socially "dead" to the community, where
the person is crying out for rescue but where no-one even notices.
ABOUT THE POET
"Stevie" was only her nickname. She was actually christened Florence Margaret Smith.
She was born in Yorkshire in 1902. At about the age of three, however, she and her sister were
abandoned by their father and would be raised by their mother in London.
Her mother died while she was a teenager after which the future poet and her sister came to be cared for
by their unmarried aunt, a domineering woman who would leave a distinct mark on Ms Smith's future
character.
After graduating from the North London Collegiate School for Girls, Ms Smith began work as a secretary
to a magazine publisher and started writing at the same time.
She published her first novel at the age of 34 and her first book of verse would follow when she was 35.
Many of her poems were illustrated with rough doodles, and she established a reputation for writing
simple, almost nursery rhyme poetry but which was nevertheless rich in meaning. Her favourite themes
were death, her religion and fairy stories.
Ms Smith won several awards for her poetry, including the Chomondeley Award (1966) and the Queen's
Gold Medal (1969).
She would remain in the same house in London from age three until her death. She died of a brain
tumour in 1971 at the age of 69.
Have you looked at the questions
in the right column?
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TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer
the following questions:
"Oh, no no no, it was too cold always
(Still the dead one lay moaning)
I was much too far out all my life
And not waving but drowning."
- Explain the triple "no no no". And why does the poet not use commas to separate the
words? (4)
[Need help?]
This is an exclamation of emphatic denial, that the very opposite is true. The words are meant to be said
rapidly which is why there are no commas. Indeed, the presence of commas would slow the words,
making them more philosophical and less passionate.
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- What is the purpose of parenthesis? Identify the part of the verse which is in
parenthesis. (4)
[Need help?]
Parenthesis is the placing of words between brackets or dashes -- sometimes between commas
-- to provide additional useful information but which is not absolutely necessary for the understanding of
the sentence.
"(Still the dead one lay moaning)" is in parenthesis or brackets.
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- Why has the poet chosen to use parenthesis in this verse? (4)
[Need help?]
This third verse is written mostly in the 1st person. In other words, it is the psychologically "dead"
person speaking, reinforcing his point that his break with society is not anything knew.
The parenthesis, on the other hand, is the chorus of society, not listening at all to the ailing one's
explanation but rather re-emphasising its mistaken view in a totally self-centred way.
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"I was much too far out all my life
And not waving but drowning."
The concluding two lines are a repeat of similar lines in Stanza 1.
- What differences does one see in the repetition? (4)
[Need help?]
In Stanza 1, the man merely states that he was "much further out than you thought", something
which could be interpreted as an occasional thing which could happen.
In Stanza 3, on the other hand, the man explains that he was "much too far out all [his] life".
Indeed, it was a permanent condition which nobody ever noticed.
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- What new message does the poet put forward by these changes? (6)
[Need help?]
The two messages lead to a climax. In the first, his being too far out was an occasional thing. In the
second, it was a permanent happening.
In the first, there would appear to be an element of forgiveness, or understanding, because it would be
perfectly understandable that society could fail to notice the occasional lapse.
In the second, the man explains how serious it actually was, that he was always out of touch with society,
always isolated and lonely -- and yet nobody ever noticed.
Where society could therefore be forgiven in the first instance, it stands as condemned in the second.
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GENERAL QUESTIONS:
Comment on the very simplistic style adopted in this poem. (10)
[Need help?]
Notice the simplicity of the words: mostly monosyllabic with 10 bi-syllabic words and just one -- the first
word -- that is tri-syllabic.
There is also not a single word here that is difficult to understand even by young children. At face value,
therefore, this poem is a very simplistic one.
The theme too would appear to be most simplistic: death. But it is not death as such, but rather the death
of the spirit, death of the soul.
At face value, there is no metaphorical description but just plain narrative. It is very much like a simple
fairy story except that, like many fairy stories, there are nuances of meanings within the words, and levels
of meaning within the theme itself.
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It has been stated elsewhere that death is perhaps Stevie Smith's most popular subject.
- To what extent is death a theme in this poem? (4)
[Need help?]
Death is only at issue in a metaphorical sense. It is not the physical death of the person but rather his
spiritual death, the death of his soul.
The poem therefore analyses not physical death but rather the loneliness of the spirit, the isolation of the
soul which is death to the spirit.
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Wikipedia states that Stevie Smith's style "is unique in its combination of seemingly prosaic statements,
playful meter, and deep sense of irony."
- To what extent is this a correct opinion as regards this poem? (10)
[Need help?]
"Prosaic" means "commonplace or dull; matter-of-fact or unimaginative".
This poem at face value would appear to be that, narrating a very simple story and using very simple
words. There is, however, a very important social comment being preached: that society is no longer
noticing the crises occurring in its midst as people drift away into isolation which brings spiritual death.
This too is the irony of the poem: the poet portrays apparent "larking" as imminent spiritual
destruction.
At the same time, there is indeed a playful metre, One cannot trap the poet into a metronome metre
where every line is the same length. The poem instead is presented in a light-hearted fashion which hides
the tragedy beneath.
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This is a poem for several voices.
[Need help?]
There are essentially three voices: the narrator, the "dead" person speaking in the 1st person and
the choir or clamour of society.
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- What is the purpose of using this technique? (10)
[Need help?]
By using three different voices, the poet puts across the message that society is out of step with its
members. The choir is intensely ignorant of its failure to protect the individuals in its midst, whereas the
individual -- speaking in the 1st person -- points out society's mistakes.
If the poem were read out loud in the three voices, it would make a hilarious and yet tragic interpretation
of the poem.
The narrator, speaking with the voice of the woman, gives a general comment which might or might not
be true.
The narrator, speaking with the voice of a man, explains the reality of the situation.
The choir, speaking in the unruly fashion of a disorganised group, interprets modern society for what it is:
blustering, blundering, failing to recognise its failures and always defending its own perception of events.
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