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“Not Waving but Drowning” was composed by British poet Stevie Smith in 1957. The poem consists of only three stanzas about a man who is drowning while the observers think he is merely waving hands and enjoys swimming. Even though the idea is clear on the surface, the text’s true meaning is that an individual can be alienated from society due to a lack of communication.
The opening lines suggest that not s single person could hear a dying man regardless of his crying because of pain. The dead man (the first-person speaker) says: ” I was much further out than you thought; And not waving but drowning” (Smith, lines 3-4). In the meantime, the crowd discusses his death, referring to his cheerful nature. They blame cold for making man’s heart stop while just playing in the water: “It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way, They said” (Smith, lines 7-8). Then, the first-person speaker interjects again, stating that it was not the cold that killed him but rather his miscommunication with society.
The author intentionally uses ironic tones to emphasize the internal conflict of the main character. In public, the man lives a bright life, whereas, on the inside, he is isolated. Smith successfully demonstrates that the lack of communication can make one suffer in pain or even die. After the first reading, the tone of the poem seems quite comic, whilst further reading produces the opposite effect. It is almost paralyzing how the onlookers are just standing and staring at the man floating in the water and doing nothing to rescue him.
The fundamental paradox is presented in the first line of the first stanza, where the man is supposed to be dead, yet he is moaning for help. The sense of hope for salvation is marked by the word “still.” However, the listeners keep talking to each other as if they do not hear any moans. In the second stanza, the onlookers describe the man as a “poor chap” (Smith, line 5). This colloquial expression signifies that they do not express much sorrow but rather say neutral words to keep up the conversation. They also mention that “he always loved larking,” meaning that the dead person enjoyed having leisure time (Smith, line 5). Later, they dryly state that “now he’s dead,” without trying to pity him and referring to cold as the primary cause of his early departure (Smith, line 5). Finally, in the third stanza, the man interjects in an attempt to cry that he dies because of people’s observance of him.
Noteworthy, the body language of the speaker might have been perceived as a ‘hello,’ rather than a help signal. Since body language can be easily misinterpreted, it has become a source of jokes or exaggerations. Even the poem’s title seems quite comical as it directly says that the man is not just waving but actually drowning. In this context, his hands’ movements should have been misunderstood as greetings. Partially, it was mistaken as the listeners thought of the dying man as an active and life-loving individual. However, their ignorance of the fact that he must have needed help contributed to his death.
Stevie Smith used quite a simplistic form to mask such a complex issue. He implemented three typical four-line stanzas to show inconsistency between death and miscommunication. The easy and clear structure of the poem disguises its dark matters. Notably, the fourth and the twelfth lines coincide “and not waving but drowning” (Smith, line 12). This device demonstrates the inescapable consequence, immersing a reader into the man’s predicament.
The poem’s meter is not fixed; hence, it can be considered free verse as it does not have any strict tone revealing the dark subject matter. In general, “Not Waving but Drowning” has iambic and anapestic meters. Meanwhile, its rhyme follows the pattern of a ballad to create a balance between the playful tones and the tension. On the whole, this choice of meter and rhyme is conditioned by the necessity to mitigate the seriousness of the topic and make a reader contemplate their own perception of the death of a stranger.
Perhaps, the most curious aspect of the poem is the choice of speaker. Intriguingly, the author opens the text with the third poem narration. Nevertheless, the colon at the end of the second line suggests that the following lines belong to the dead man himself. The narration constantly shifts from the crowd to the man in order to show that they barely can understand each other even while trying to communicate. It provides an insight into the instability of communication and the inevitability of one’s death.
In conclusion, Smith’s poem “Not Waving but Drowning” reveals the dark truth – miscommunication and social isolation lead to fatal outcomes. The author’s choice of rhyme and meter mask the gravity of the matter, yet they help demonstrate the presentiment of the inevitability of death. Overall, the poem is aimed to prove that people should express more sympathy and clarify the situation as it can prevent negative consequences.
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