Not Waving but DrowningBYSTEVIE SMITHNobody heard him, the dead man,But still he lay moaning:I was much further out than you thoughtAnd not waving but drowning.

Poor chap, he always lovedlarkingAnd now hes deadIt must have been too cold for him his heart gave way,They said.

Oh, no no no, it was too cold always(Still the dead one lay moaning)I was much too far out all my lifeAnd not waving but drowning."Not Waving but Drowning" is a poem by the British poetStevie Smith. It was published in 1957 as part of a collection of the same title.[1]The most famous of Smith's poems,[2]it gives an account of a drowned man whose distressed thrashing in the water had been mistaken for waving.[3]The poem was accompanied by one of Smith's drawings, as was common in her work.The poem's personal significance has been the topic of several pieces of literary criticism because Smith was treated for psychological problems. She contemplated suicide at the age of eight after what she described as a difficult childhood and her struggle with the fact that her father abandoned her.[4]Interpretations[edit]Like many of Smith's poems, "Not Waving but Drowning" is short, consisting of only twelve lines. Thenarrativetakes place from athird-personperspective and describes the circumstances surrounding the "dead man" described in line one. In line five the poem suggests that the man who has died "always loved larking," which causes his distress signals to be discounted.[2]The image that Smith attached to the poem shows the form of a girl from the waist up with her wet hair hanging over her face. Although the image goes with a poem about a man drowning, the girl's expression appears incongruous with the text of the poem as it forms what Severin describes as a "mysterious smile".[5]Jannice Thaddeus suggests that the speaker of the poem, like other figures in Smith's works, changes from male to female as part of a theme ofandrogynythat exists in many of the poems found inSelected Poems.[6]The sketch differs from the poem in that the figure is of a woman rather than a man, and Smith scholar Laura Severin suggests that the figure might be Mary, a character in another poem by Smith entitled "Cool as a Cucumber." The drawing was used as the accompanying image for the poem "The Frozen Lake" inSelected Poems,a self-edited compilation of Smith's works published in 1962.[5][7]While Ingrid Hotz-Davies suggests that the "drowning man" is Smith herself, she also states that there are problems with reading the poem as a cry for help due to the humorous tone of the poem yet at the same time she also notes that the representational form of the poem "may easily be misread as a friendly wave of the hand".[2]The poem's simpledictionledClive Jamesto suggest that Smith attempted to write the poem so that the diction appeared ignorant of poetic convention yet was carefully crafted to appear more simple than it was.[8]James describes the relationship between Smith and the speaker in "Not Waving but Drowning" by saying, "her poems, if they were pills to cure Melancholy, did not work for [Smith]. The best of them, however, worked like charms for everyone else."[8]Paper on Not Waving but Drowning

Stevie Smiths Not Waving but Drowning is a short poem consisting of only twelve lines; however, understanding it is not as easy as it looks because it contains so many factors that make the poem very ambiguous. Smith employs two contradictory tones ironically in the same poem to represent the internal conflict that the speaker is suffering. The poems central metaphor of calling out for help while drowning but being misunderstood as waving indicates that this conflict stems from the miscommunication between the speaker and the society. In public, the speaker fakes a bright and lively personality even though inside, he is feeling isolated and lonely. Smith accentuates the importance of personal and sincere interactions between people by demonstrating the consequences that the speaker has to suffer when he lacks them.

When the poem is first read, Smiths tone creates a comic mood that seems to be completely opposite of the main theme. The text depicts a man who is misunderstood by others, as they think that he is waving his arms to say hello when he is in fact, signaling for help while drowning. Because misinterpretation in our body language has been a common source of jokes for a long time, the title of the poem inevitably carries a somewhat comical connotation. In addition, the contrast between the two meanings, saying hello and asking for help while drowning, of the speakers action is so big that it seems even unrealistic, therefore less serious. The usage of colloquial language such as poor chap (5) and Oh, no no no, (9) adds to the effect by giving the impression that the whole poem is a casual anecdote with jokes between friends.

Nevertheless, a reader would find the speaker more segregated from the others as the more subtle factors that affect the tone become clearer when the poem is reread. Beginning the poem in a third person perspective, the speaker creates some distance between himself and the dead...Short Summary on Not Waving but Drowning by Stevie SmithbyR JainStevie Smiths Not Waving but Drowning like most of his poems in dark and the theme is the frequently used death. The poem deals both figuratively and literally with a man, lost in the sea. The poem portrays an amazing contradiction in the content and the tone between the flippancy of the narration and seriousness of a mans situation.Known for her combination of caprice and doom in her writing, Stevie Smith in one of her most famous works Not Waving but Drowning has omitted significant punctuations and quotation marks to make the readers understand the depth of the poem.The entire theme of Stevies poem revolves around a dead mans speech that was lost in his entire life and cried all along for help instead of waving to the people who came into his life and even passed out of it. The poem is a mixture of a number of conflicting emotions. The death of the dead man is stated as a matter of fact which is free from all the emotions. The misery of the dead man is explained in the two lines Nobody heard him, the dead man, But still he lay moaning.The dead man is screaming his enormous pain through the pen of the poetess.The dead man, when alive was neglected, even though in quiet ways, he was showing his feeling. Even though his family and friends were aware of his pain, still they could not help him or may be dis not want to help him. The dead man was in pain even when he was alive and even now when he is dead. Because he failed to express his feelings while he was alive, today it is impossible for him to get rid of this pain.The line Poor chap, he always loved larking is the point of view of his family who are convincing themselves that the dead mans pain is and completely was the result of his own fault. It was impossible for the family to help him. And now he is dead, These lines explain the pain of his family who feel sorry that a person whom they loved dearly was unable to express his feelings properly as a result of which he cannot find peace and solace even after his death.Some people think that death is a solution to all the problems but the truth is exactly the opposite. How can you solve your problems once you are dead if you were not capable of solving them while you were alive and had the resources to solve them? Oh no no it was too cold always explains the fact that his peers and siblings were aware of the fact that the dead man was depressed when he was alive; they were as a matter of fact used to his depression.he poetess in this short poem has explained the true meaning and necessity of expressing oneself in their lives to their loved ones because lack of expression results in mourning even after death.A dead man complains that he was further out than anyone thought and not waving at them, but instead drowning. Well that's tough luck, because nobody hears him.Other people remark that it's too bad he's dead, especially since he was a bit of a goodtime guy. They think of reasons that he might have died, including the coldness of the water and heart failure.But the dead guy ain't havin' that. He tells them (not that they're listening or anything) that he was struggling all his lifenot just at the moment of his death.SwimmingSymbol AnalysisAs we've mentioned before, the poem never directly says there's a body of water involved in the man's death, but it sure gives us some hints. C'mon, how else could he drown? So at first we think there's an actual swimming accident.Hasselhoffshows up too late or not at all. However, by the end of the poem, we get the sense that maybe swimming is an extendedmetaphorfor the act of living. You try to stay afloat until you can't anymore, and then you're dead. Cheery stuff, huh? Title: While waving could happen anywhere, there are only a few places you can drown. Before we even start the poem, we're flooded with swimming context. Line 3: Being "much further out" gives us our first clue in the poem itself that we should understand the setting as some potentially dangerous body of water. The "you" addressed by the dead man suggests there were others swimming, or at least near the shore. Of course, figuratively speaking, this could mean those other people go on living their lives, while the poor guy is struggling. Line 4: The title comes back here to insist on reading the man's death as a failure to swim; that is, he drowns. This line will repeat at the end of the poem; this kind of repetition is called arefrain. Line 7: The literal drowning hypothesis picks up more steam here (to mix a metaphor) where the others speculate about what caused the death. They think the water could have been too cold or his heart too weak. Whatever the cause, they're thinking just about the moment of his death, not what led up to it. Line 9: The dead man tries to correct them by saying the water was always too cold. Because we doubt he's spent his whole life in the water, it's likely that he's telling them that his death was a long time coming. It's not just one moment of being too cold, it's a lifetime of it. Line 11: As with line 9, this line suggests ametaphoricaltake on swimming and drowning. He was always too far from the other swimmers or the shore, always out of the reach of help. It definitely sounds like he's talking less about a final accident and more about the long-standing isolation of his life. Line 12: Once the refrain comes back, we realize the dead man was trying to explain something about his life from the beginning, but welike the people in stanza 2thought it was only an actual drowning. Now we've heard enough to know the metaphorical truth: no one ever really heard him or could assist him, so eventually he died.Failed CommunicationSymbol AnalysisFor a poem with so many voices speaking, it sure doesn't look like there's a lot of actual interaction going on. The first speaker only jumps in to set the scene, speaking just to the reader. He or she's not a joiner. The dead man desperately needs someone to understand him, but because he's dead no one can (not without calling a psychic, anyway). The other people chatter among themselves and talk over each other, not addressing the dead man, but distressing him all the same by getting the facts wrong. Everyone seems disconnected from each other in some way. Somebody needs to shut up and listen, but who? Line 1: The very first thing we learn in the poem is that nobody hears the dead man, which means he speaks five out of the poem's twelve lines in vain. Bummer. Line 3: Even before he died, the others didn't understand the danger he was in. Line 4: He tried to signal his distress, but the others thought he was waving at them, possibly because they thought of him as a guy who liked to goof around. Lines 9-12: The entire last stanza is an attempt to correct the other people's misunderstanding of the dead man. At least he can hear what they are saying, even though he's much more caught up in his own misery. But we know from the beginning of the poem that nobody heard him: do you think this would change by the end of the poem? If not, this would be an example ofdramatic irony, which means we the readers know more about the real situation than do some of the characters. In this case, we know both that the dead man suffered all his life and that nobody can hear him.Life and DeathSymbol AnalysisAh, the central contrast of the poem heck, the central contrast of existence. Everything revolves around these two states in the poem, whether they're described literally or undercover as metaphors. As readers, we're left uneasy that life and death can coexist so close to each other; in fact one can even look like the other if we're too far out. Maybe it's time to move a little closer to shore. Line 1: We receive the bad news very bluntly here: someone is dead. Actually dead. And he doesn't even get a name. Line 2: The dead man is "still" and he "lay"; both descriptions sound like a corpse. Yet, he's also moaning, which is confusing. Is he alive or dead (or undead)? Line 4: Thisrefraincalls up an image of a fatal swimming accident, suggesting how the dead man got that way. "Waving," though, sounds very lively. Line 5: The living people seem to remember him as the guy who would be waving. They thought he liked to have fun. As readers, we already know this isn't a terribly accurate profile of the dead man. Line 6: The blunt, obvious nature of this statement leaves us without any doubt: talking or not, the dead man is really dead. Line 7: "They" try to find a medical reason for the death. They're missing the point because the dead man is trying to tell them it was isolation that really killed him. So, it was more an emotional cause of a death than a physical one. Line 10-12: Being dead apparently doesn't stop him from trying to be heard. This stanza further confuses the difference between life and death, as well as the cause of his misfortune. Instead of a single, fatal accident, the dead man describes a lifetime of drowning. It's as if life and death weren't separate states. What could be more horrifying than feeling like you're dying your entire life?Not Waving but Drowning Theme of IsolationThe dead man's really on his own out there in "Not Waving but Drowning." Because he's out of reach, physically or metaphorically, there's no one to throw him a line when things get tough. Even worse, being dead finally cuts off all hope of help or reconnection to the community of the living. Instead, he's stuck, alone, obsessed with his fate, while the fools he left back on land chat about his death.Quote #1Nobody heard him, the dead man, (1)

It's been said that everybody dies alone, and this line hammers the fact home. Not only is he alone in death, but he's apparently cursed with the ability to keep speaking, even though no one can hear him. That's gotta be torture.Quote #2I was much further out than you thought (3)

If he's swimming, then he's too far from shore or the other swimmers. We have to wonder why he's so far out. Was he being reckless? Did he overestimate his swimming ability or mistake the water's depth? Maybe a kiddie pool would have been more his speed.Quote #3Oh, no no no, it was too cold always (9)

The phrase "out in the cold" can mean "excluded." So being out where the water is too cold seems like a metaphor for being cut off from the warmth of home and companions. The dead man felt he was always excluded from these basic comforts.Not Waving but Drowning Theme of CommunicationThere's a surprising number of voices in this short poem, but an even more surprising lack of real dialogue. No one seems to be connecting with other people in "Not Waving but Drowning." Instead, the dead man speaks to an audience that doesn't hear and vainly tries to correct misinformation, while the ones he addresses say untrue things about the dead man and talk over each other. Everyone seems to be stuck inside their own perspective, which makes this poem an awfully bleak picture of society in a microcosm of just twelve lines.Quote #1Nobody heard him, the dead man,But still he lay moaning: (1-2)

The very first thing we learn in the poem is that the dead guy has no audience. So why's he talking? Furthermore, how is he talking if he's, you know,dead? Depending on how you see things, he could be in some kind of afterlife or a ghost, desperately trying to tell his story to the living. "Still" suggests a continued effort at communicating, even if it's in vain. Spooky, but sad. It might be time to call in that lady fromPoltergeist.Quote #2I was much further out than you thought (3)

The dead man addresses a "you" here, confirming that he has a target audience in mind. And it's more than a little accusatory. He would tell them what really happened, if only he could get through. Alas, it's probably too late. He's dead, remember?Quote #3And not waving but drowning. (4 and 12)

The biggest miscommunication in the poem is the impression that the dead man was waving, when really he was probably, you know, flailing. Why would onlookers see a playful greeting instead of a sign of distress? Especially if we take the drowning as a metaphor, how could they miss that he was struggling for his entire life?Not Waving but Drowning Theme of SufferingIt's clear to everyone in "Not Waving but Drowning" that the dead man suffered, but just how long or why is a matter of debate (or disinterest). As readers we initially think he's moaning about his death. Likewise, the people in stanza 2 think the saddest thing was the suffering he experienced at the moment of death. But the dead man himself tells us it was much worse than we suspect: it wasn't his death that was unbearably painful, it was his entire life.Quote #1But still he lay moaning: (2)

"Moaning" gives us the first evidence that the man, although dead and "still", continues to feel pain. Whether it is physical or mental pain isn't clear, especially because it's hard to figure out how he could still be talking or feeling if he's dead. Magic? Weird science?Quote #2And not waving but drowning (4 and 12)

The poem's refrain insists on a terrible and fatal kind of suffering. It's bad enough to feel that sensation once, but to feel it all your life? Horrifying. What might drowning represent metaphorically?Quote #3It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way, (7)

It's not that these people don't believe the dead man suffered, it's just that they think it was only at the moment of death. They explain away his situation by coming up with physical reasons for his pain and death. The cold to them is a literal cold, as in water that's too frigid to swim in. The failed heart is also only a physical failure, not a metaphorical heartbreak. Their problem, see, is they didn't read enough Shmoop guides to poetry.You'd think that there couldn't be a clearer distinction than the one between life and death, but "Not Waving but Drowning" goes out of its way to muddy the water, so to speak. The focus, after all, is a talking corpse who just won't shut up even though the living can't hear him. Is he alive? Was he ever alive? The other people seem to think that he used to be lively, indeed, but the picture of the dead man that comes through by the end is of a nightmarish existence that was always like being dead. No wonder he's been moaning about it.Quote #1Nobody heard him, the dead man,But still he lay moaning: (1-2)

These lines insist twice that he's speaking and twice that he's dead. It's a confusing state of affairs, to be sure. Why do you think the poem starts with these two contradictory states? Is it a haunted poem?Quote #2And not waving but drowning. (4 and 12)

The opposition here is between the lively activity of waving and the deadly one of drowning. Nobody knew (or knows now) that his life was in jeopardy. Life and death are so close to each other that one can be mistaken for the other. At least, they can be if your friends are too busy with their own games and struggles.Quote #3Poor chap, he always loved larkingAnd now he's dead (5-6)

Though the speaker here might not have been aware that the dead man had been dying for a long time, he or she (or they) is at least aware of the outcome. It's so strange, the speaker thinks, that someone who appeared to love life so much could suddenly be dead. This is a weighty subject, so no wonder the speaker has a hard time saying it in a way that sounds appropriate to the situation. Still, it's kinda funny. It just goes to show how little these folks really understood about the guy, huh?