Get out the microscope, because we’re going through this poem line-by-line.
Lines 1-3
In a solitude of the sea
Deep from human vanity,
And the Pride of Life that planned her, stilly couches she.
- The sea is kind of a lonely place when we think about how vast it is. The same idea holds true here as the speaker introduces the poem with the setting of the "solitude of the sea." And since the sea is so removed from humanity and all its creations, it's far from things like vanity and glory. Notice that we're already deep at the bottom of the sea in line 2. So the speaker isn't wasting any time in establishing the setting in a way that's far removed from man's vanity.
- Notice too how the speaker is first focused on the sea rather than the Titanic itself. (Heck, at this point it's not clear to anyone that the Titanic is even the subject yet.) So we may be getting hints that this poem is taking a slightly different approach, perhaps one that's more metaphysical (philosophical), when it comes to this famous story.
- We have some alliteration here too ("solitude" and "sea") that emphasizes the soft sounds of the sea waves. Check out "Sound Check" for more on sound in this poem.
- We also have a perfect rhyme in these three lines ("sea," "vanity," "she"). Already we feel a kind of smooth connectedness with that AAA rhyme scheme so let's see if the speaker keeps it up. (Check out "Form and Meter" for more details.)
- Line 3 gives us some more perspective on the difference between man's "Pride of Life" (like vanity, glory, etc.) and the solitude of the sea that's far from all that. The former helped to build (or plan) while the latter ironically became the very thing that brought those plans down and now "couches (holds) she." So much for man's "Pride of Life," right?
- But wait a hot second. Who is she, and what is she doing at the bottom of the ocean? Well, ya scurvy land lubbers, if you know anything about boats, you know that a) they go on the ocean and b) they are treated as women. So, the "she" here must be the Titanic. At this point, Hardy's readers would have been picking up on that reference, since the shipwreck would have still been fresh in their minds.
- So which appears more powerful here, the sea or those great shipbuilding plans? Clearly the sea that cares little about man's "Pride of Life." Notice the capitalization of these words too that's meant to emphasize the influence that man's pride has over his life and work, while nature is totally indifferent to all of it.