Reading Reflections Wk 4 1

Stevie Smith’s "Not Waving But Drowning"

Dawn Korsick

ENG125

Professor Porter

March 27, 2011

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"Not Waving But Drowning" by Stevie Smith is a poem about unheard cries for help,

loneliness, and about others around you not looking to what needs to be seen. “The poet’s work

requires (first) looking into ordinary things, examining their complexities, discovering insights

and surprises that often are not seen in them, and (second) expressing what was observed or felt

in the process” (Clugston, 2010, p.200). Everybody can find themselves inside this poem, they

can find caring and indifference, a seriousness and humor, and a want of living and want of

dying. It is all condensed into a short poem, which tells the story of every human being,

including the author of this poem.

By using everyday language and a style that is understood, Stevie Smith has revealed the

misery of someone who has died. Within the poem, “Not Waving But Drowning”, there are

three voices that are telling the tale. The first voice is that of the narrator that tells the reader

what has happened, “Nobody heard him, the dead man” (Smith, 1957/1972), a man who was out

at sea and swimming in cold water. He was “much too far out” (Smith, 1957/1972) and called for

help by waving his hands to capture the attention of onlookers. However, the people on the beach

misunderstood his gesture of waving and did not help the man and so the man died alone. The

second is that of the man himself, “I was much further than you thought” (Smith, 1957/1972).

And the third voice is that of the people who knew him, “always loved larking” (Smith,

1957/1972).

Language expresses the poet’s tone toward the symbolism in this poem and this

technique is used to heighten the meaning of his death. As a reader, we can interpret that this

man did not want help and wanted to appear in control by portraying that he was waving but in
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reality was drowning and not wanting to reveal his true feelings. But as we read in the third

stanza that “it was too cold always” (Smith, 1957/1972) we can see that perhaps that the

onlookers were too self-absorbed and uncaring to notice that something was amiss from the

beginning. Now that it is too late, he “lays moaning” (Smith, 1957/1972) and wants to be heard.

It was the image that the poem’s title depicts that captured my attention. The notion of

misconception that is implicated in “Not Waving But Drowning” can be interpreted in different

ways and by so many. The title is repeated in the poem twice to allow the reader to understand its

implication and the impact the four words should have. The poem itself is only three stanzas with

four lines each, but shows both an external and internal symmetry. The external symmetry is

shown by the rhyme scheme of a-b-c-b and the internal is that of the rhythm of the words and the

measure. Only the first of three syllables are stressed and promotes a steady beat, almost similar

to the rhythm of the sea or that of waves crashing on a beach.

Along with imagery, it was the meaning behind the words. The author, Stevie Smith,

wrote her poetry that was preferably about dismal and about death, but illuminating that death

was not something to be feared or dreaded (Stier, 2009). In “Not Waving But Drowning” the

author switches back and forth from the first person to the third person point of view. “Nobody

heard him, the dead man” (Smith, 1957/1972), this line is that of the narrator as opposed to this

next line, “I was much further out than you thought”, (Smith, 1957/1972) where it has switched

to the first person. Perhaps Stevie Smith was using this poem as a hidden metaphor for her own

life, about her own loneliness and her own thoughts of wishing for death. This shift between the
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author and character also adds the element of transparency for the reader and it is almost as if

this poem is Stevie Smith “waving” for her own help.

The author uses a drowning situation to become acquainted with onlookers and society.

In “Not Waving But Drowning” the man gives a false understanding to those that are around him

as they believe that he “loves larking” (Smith, 1957/1972) in the water. The man could be doing

this to hide his true feelings, perhaps seeming happy when in fact he is not, similar to how many

people act to hide their own misfortunes. Like the “Boy Who Cried Wolf”, this man eventually

needs help, but the onlookers ignore him. It is an image of someone suppressing their pain for

too long and then it is too late.

This also implies that they knew this man well enough to know his action of “larking”,

but still they did not know the signs of the man in trouble. Everyone, past and present, have felt

this feeling of isolation, of loneliness, and the feeling of being in trouble and no one hears or sees

the distress signals. The tone is one of a dark mood and you can actually feel the frustration in

the third stanza “Oh, no no no, it was too cold always, (Still the dead one lay moaning), I was

much too far out all my life, And not waving but drowning." (Smith, 1957/1972).

It is an ironic twist that while the man is waving for help, the onlookers believe that he is

waving to them in a non-threatening manner. As a result the man dies still the onlookers believe

that it was the temperature of the water as opposed to anything else. The drowned man replies “it

was cold always” (Smith, 1957/1972) and “was much further out all of his life” (Smith,

1957/1972).
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In the last stanza, the word "he" or "man" has been replaced with the word "one". This

gives the reader the impression that this poem is not just about a man drowning, but can be

interpreted by everyone that feels that they are alone in the world. It is how so many may go

through life, dying inside without anybody ever knowing the real cause. People so deceptive that

even others that are close to them cannot see through until it is too late and “Not Waving But

Drowning” is that tale that tells the story of most likely every human being’s feelings, including

the author of this poem, Stevie Smith.

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References

Clugston, R.W. (2010). Journey into literature. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education.

Smith, S. (1957/1972). Not Waving But Drowning. In R.W. Clugston(Ed)., Journey into

literature. (pp. 216-217). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education.  

Stier, S. (2009, February 21). Stevie Smith. February 21, 2009. Retrieved March 24, 2011 from

http://samanthastier.com/stevie-smith/