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READ THIS
The poet examines in an almost playful manner the implications of someone suffering psychological
distancing from society, where the person becomes mentally or socially "dead" to the community, where
the person is crying out for rescue but where no-one even notices.
ABOUT THE POET
"Stevie" was only her nickname. She was actually christened Florence Margaret Smith.
She was born in Yorkshire in 1902. At about the age of three, however, she and her sister were
abandoned by their father and would be raised by their mother in London.
Her mother died while she was a teenager after which the future poet and her sister came to be cared for
by their unmarried aunt, a domineering woman who would leave a distinct mark on Ms Smith's future
character.
After graduating from the North London Collegiate School for Girls, Ms Smith began work as a secretary
to a magazine publisher and started writing at the same time.
She published her first novel at the age of 34 and her first book of verse would follow when she was 35.
Many of her poems were illustrated with rough doodles, and she established a reputation for writing
simple, almost nursery rhyme poetry but which was nevertheless rich in meaning. Her favourite themes
were death, her religion and fairy stories.
Ms Smith won several awards for her poetry, including the Chomondeley Award (1966) and the Queen's
Gold Medal (1969).
She would remain in the same house in London from age three until her death. She died of a brain
tumour in 1971 at the age of 69.
Have you looked at the questions
in the right column?
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TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer
the following questions:
"Nobody heard him, the dead man,
But still he lay moaning:"
- If the man was already dead, then how could he still have been moaning? (4)
[Need help?]
The use of the metaphor "the dead man" is precisely that: a metaphor. The man is psychologically
dead, isolated from society, no longer able to communicate with it in any significant way but crying out for
rescue. We can look for other descriptions for such isolation: spiritual death, loneliness, psychological
trauma, etc.
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- Why does the poet introduce this theme with the word "Nobody"? (4)
[Need help?]
This is, of course, the ultimate generalisation. Surely somebody heard him? No, says the poet, nobody
heard him, so isolated was he, so cut off from all society, so lonely.
"I am a rock, I am an island,", wrote Paul Simon. "I touch no-one and no-one touches me."
But, while Paul Simon sings these words, we see that the person is not a rock at all but a very sad and
lonely person who is desperately in need of rescue.
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"I was much further out than you thought
And not waving but drowning."
- Having stated her theme about the dead man, the poet switches to the 1st person. What is her
purpose in doing this? (4)
[Need help?]
The poet uses multiple voices to achieve her effect. Voice 1 -- the narrator -- has introduced the theme
of the man thought to be dead but is not dead.
Now the subject speaks up for himself, explaining something that everyone had overlooked, namely that
he was always out of reach of society and was in reality drowning psychologically.
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- What does the poet mean when she says, "I was much further out than you
thought"? (4)
[Need help?]
The poet -- speaking through the mouth of the man -- explains that, during his whole life, he was out
of touch with society, or indeed that society was out of touch with him. Things were always somewhat
worse than society believed they were.
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- Why does there appear to be confusion about the dead man "not waving but
drowning"? (4)
[Need help?]
The poet uses the analogy of the surfer who is out of his depth beyond the waves and the crowds. He
waves his arms but, from a distance, it is not clear whether he is calling for help or is just enjoying himself
and waving at someone on the beach.
This analogy is then carried into normal life where a person's mental state is at stake. People often take
no notice of such people, believing they too are fooling around or can look after themselves. What is often
mistaken for fun, however, is actually a plea for help, a call to be noticed and rescued.
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"Poor chap, he always loved larking
And now he's dead
It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way,
They said."
- Comment on the tone that would be used with the words, "Poor chap". (4)
[Need help?]
We have here a third voice, that of the crowd of onlookers who realise -- too late -- that he is already
lost to them. The tone is one of sympathy and ignorance, so sorry for what has happened but what could
we do? Ag shame, we would say in South Africa.
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- What is meant by "larking"? (4)
[Need help?]
"Larking" means playing around, playing the fool, having a game, pretending to be in need of help,
crying wolf.
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- Is it true that the dead man "always loved larking"? (4)
[Need help?]
No, indeed not! What appears to be "always loved larking" is, in fact, a genuine cry for help. The
man is appealing for society to come to his rescue but society fails to see this, believing rather that he is
forever playing a joke on them.
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- The poet introduces the idea of coldness which she sustains into the next verse. What coldness is
she talking about? (4)
[Need help?]
Would this not be the coldness of human neglect, the coldness of being ostracised and shunned by
society, the coldness of loneliness, the coldness which comes about from a lack of human warmth and
caring?
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- The poet explains that "his heart gave way". How many meanings can you find for the word
"heart" within this context? (4)
[Need help?]
"Heart" is the centre of the person's emotions, the place of love, the life-giving part of the body, the
very beat of the soul. Can you think of any other meanings?
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