Symbol Analysis
We usually imagine twins to look alike, but here twins can be anything so long as they're opposite but equal. Huh? Let's put it this way: the Titanic makes up one half while the Iceberg makes up the other. And the two are totally unaware of one another, just like opposites like night and day that we might imagine to be unaware of one another since they're so different. On a deeper level, these halves symbolize the creative and destructive forces that are everywhere and are maybe governed by some sort of "Immanent Will."
- Lines 16-18: Here's where we first see that Immanent Will that's fashioning a luxury boat on one hand but likely is doing quite the opposite on the other. So the Titanic symbolizes the creative side here.
- Lines 19-21: At the same time the Titanic is being built, that same Immanent Will is preparing a "sinister mate" far out at sea. So that Iceberg symbolizes the destructive force that makes up the second half.
- Lines 22-24: The two halves are totally unaware of one another but ironically are growing together here. There's a kind of shadowy silent distance between them that symbolizes the mystery that constitutes these creative and destructive halves that we don't fully understand.