Jan 12

The poem "Casabianca" by Felicia Dorothea Hemans is rich with imagery. One example is the deck of the boat as described in the first stanza.

THE boy stood on the burning deck

Whence all but him had fled;

The flame that lit the battle's wreck

Shone round him o'er the dead.

This stanza can be interpreted as depicting a lone boy standing on the burning deck of a ship. The deck shows no sign of life, and the flames make the corpses of other sailors visible. This description can create many questions in the reader's mind, such as, "Is this a battle scene?" or "How/Why is the boy the only survivor?"

The seventh and eighth stanza also have a strong use of imagery.

While o'er him fast, through sail and shroud,

The wreathing fires made way.

They wrapt the ship in splendor wild,

They caught the flag on high,

And streamed above the gallant child,

Like banners in the sky.

The fires are described in high detail as they continue to spread across the ship. We can see the fire slowly spread and envelop the sails and flag in flame. The statement "streamed above... like banners in the sky," can paint a picture of the large flames, blowing sideways in the wind.

I believe this poem leaves much to interpretation. The images merely create a picture of a boy on a burning ship. The ship then explodes and litters the ocean with scrap. But why was the ship on fire? What did this boy look like in more detail? What caused the ship to explode? Why didn't the boy leave with the rest of the crew?

This scene has been linked to the Battle of the Nile between the French and English on August 1, 1798. It tells the story of the ten-year-old boy Casabianca, who followed his father's orders and stayed on the sinking French man-of-war L'Orient. Without this historical juxtaposition, however, the images provide a colorful representation of a boy on a sinking ship.