- burning deck
- flames all around
- boy standing on top of ship
- flames capturing the the flag and sails while flying in the wind
- thunder and explosions
The related themes of fire, flames, and burning can be brought to interpret the endearing faithful"ness" the young boy has for his father. At the beginning of the poem the flame that started the initial fire could represent the men from the other ship initiating a rescue for the boy. Throughout the poem the flames start to get larger and more immense. The way Hemans describes the flames wrapping around and streaming over the boy could represent his father's desire for him to stay on the boat. As the men from the other boat try to save the boy the flames get larger and at the boy's end, the author describes the flames almost as if they are circling above the boy. As the boy would not go on without his father's word, the flames spoke for him. The flames could be interpreted as the father speaking to his son after his death. Those flames were almost like the father trying to reach him before the other men did in order to keep him on the boat and not allow the other men to take him.
If you think of a fire or a flame at that, you would describe it as bright, warm, powerful, and some might even say beautiful. These are some of the words the author even uses to describe the boy as he stands on the ship. He is beautiful and bright. The author also describes the boy as proud, just as a flame would be burning in the wind, relentless of its surroundings. The boy is like a flame or fire. As he burns proudly on that ship only to obey his father's commands. He stands there before the flames proudly and brave. He proves faithful to his father; to stand on such a ship that is burning down resulting in his death. That young and faithful heart!
Moreover, the images of the flames relates to the commands of the father and the willing to obey by his son. A fire can be interpreted to describe the boy and his brave last stand on that ship.
No comments:
Post a Comment