English Literature

The poem starts off with a direct sentence "Nobody heard him the dead man," this immediately sets the tone for the poem and shows the reader that a tragic event has just taken place - the death of a man. The person who died isn't given a name and seems to lack identity. This may imply that nobody really knew him or cared for him, he was just another person. However it may also be a message from Smith, informing the readers that it is not only one person who has died but several others, therefore the man may be representing several people who have faced the same death. The poet says that nobody heard the man calling out for help, this may be taken literally (nobody heard, or cared that he was drowning) or figuratively (nobody noticed that the victim had been trying to seek help).

The second stanza gives the reader and insight to the bystanders thoughts and opinions. They address the victim as "chap" implying that they were not so close to him or did not have a relationship with him at all. Furthermore, they say that he "always loved larking," this shows that in their eyes, the victim was living a good life and he loved to joke around. Here, Smith seems to be sending a message that sometimes, the people who seem the happiest are those suffering the most. Moreover, the bystanders seem to be making excuses for his death "must have been to cold for him his heart gave way," they are now realizing that something was wrong.

In the final stanza, the poet allows the reader to hear the victim's side of the story. The victim admits that "it was too cold always," this implies that he had been facing problems/struggles all throughout his life. The fact that it was "too cold" might show his relationship with other people, especially those who are meant to be closest to him. The victim appears to feel that everyone was cold to him. "I was much too far out all my life," further proves that the victim had been facing problems all throughout his life. The final verse, "and not waving but drowning," sends a final message to the bystanders who did not understand his situation and thought he was living a good life (they thought he was waving) when in fact, the victim had been going through a lot of pain (drowning).