Depression In Stevie Smith's Not Waving But Drowning

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In Stevie Smith's poem, Not Waving but Drowning, the helpless cries of a drowning man are mistaken for friendly waves by onlookers. On a more complex level, the poem illustrates the lifelong struggle of depression and the agony it brings, which is only apparent when the damage has been dealt. The poem opens with a serious tone, introducing a drowning man, which then transitions into a more casual second stanza, making use of the literary device bathos. The use of this technique reveals that there are two sides to depression, the cheerful disguise that everyone sees, and the painful truth that only the sufferer knows. The serious tone that stanza one sets up is quickly diminished by stanza two, making use of the words "chap" and "larking", as the speaker explains that the man they knew was always a happy one. Because of this dead man's seemingly optimistic nature, no one believed that he would be drowning. Furthermore, the stanza suggests that those who are suffering often hide behind acted and practiced emotions. The two different stanzas seem to come from two different speakers. The speaker of the first stanza presents the dead man "moaning" in an everlasting pain. The following stanza's voice seems to believe that a single, terrible event led to the death of a lively, exciting man. The dead man corrects this …show more content…
The line "not waving but drowning" first appears in stanza one. Upon reading this line, it is interpreted straightforward; the dead man is not seen by others as drowning, but waving. However, this line is repeated in stanza three for the emphasis of its importance. This time it is understood that this is a lifelong "drowning". The timing of this refrain reveals that this man has suffered his whole life, yet appears perfectly fine to others, as he is “too far out” to be clearly seen. "They" only knew the dead man was suffering when he died from

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