Subscribe: by Email | in Reader

Not Waving But Drowning -- Stevie Smith

Guest poem submitted by Vikram Doctor, one last
hurrah for the 'poems in movies' theme:
(Poem #1180) Not Waving But Drowning
 Nobody heard him, the dead man,
 But still he lay moaning:
 I was much further out than you thought
 And not waving but drowning.

 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.

 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.
-- Stevie Smith
I was surprised to find Minstrels hadn't run this since it's now quite a
well known poem and one that often crops up on websites where people have
collected their favourite poems. But there's only one other Stevie Smith
poem here and perhaps her rather quirky talent deserves more. She can
sometimes be almost tiresomely whimsical, but quite often, as with this
poem, this whimsy cuts through to reveal a bone chilling despair.

I thought this could go in the series of poems in films because I'm pretty
sure its used in 'Stevie' the biopic of her made in 1978 which stars Glenda
Jackson. The film is OK, it started life as a play and one gets the feeling
it must have worked better that way. It's too talky and everything is too
much like a stage set.

But Jackson's performance is good, both sprightly and sad, as one imagines
Stevie must have been. And she plays off very well with the other good
performance from Mona Washbourne as Stevie's 'Lion aunt' with whom she spent
her life. The interaction between the two is really warm and affectionate
and the best part of the film. In the course of it several poems of Stevie's
are quoted, and this I'm sure is one of them.

'The Faber Book of Movie Verse' edited by Philip French and Ken Waschin list
several other films based on the lives of poets, though they say that in
general
"real-life poets have been romanticized in a dotty, sometimes
unintentionally comic fashion." For example they give:

- the Brownings in 'The Barretts of Wimpole Street'
- Shelley & Byron in a prelude to James Whale's "The Bride of Frankenstein'
(egging Mary Shelley on to top her earlier work)
- Ronald Colman as Villon in 'If I Were King'
- Shelley, Byron and co. again having orgies in Ken Russell's 'Gothic'
- Byron alone in 'The Bad Lord Byron' (this sounds so cheesy I really want
to see it now!) and 'Lady Caroline Lamb'
- Rip Torn as Walt Whitman in 'Beautiful Dreamers'
- Swift, Pope and Addison in 'Orlando'
- Oscar Wilde in several films
- Edgar Allan Poe in D. W. Griffith's poem of the same name
- Verlaine and Rimbaud (played by Leonardo DiCaprio!) in 'Total Eclipse'.
(After he achieved teen love god status in Titanic this film became
unexpectedly popular since it has Leo in the nude!)
- Shakespeare in several films
- Ezra Pound in 'The Cage'
- T. S. Eliot in 'Tom and Viv'

Vikram.

23 comments: ( or Leave a comment )

BTsugar03 said...

very interesting

Ray Alan F SSgt 53 WG/MO said...

Good afternoon,
I have read "Not Waving but Drowning" a dozen times, but I don't
understand the meaning. Can you explain what this is about. Thanks and
have a great day.

V/R
Alan F. Ray
" Proud to Serve"
Alan F. Ray, SSgt, USAF
53d Wing Manpower Analyst
DSN - 872-3030
COMFAX - XX2-7932

Francesca Keeling said...

Hello

I find this poem very interesting. If you know about Stevie Smith, you
will know she was depressed and she unfortunately committed suicide. I
think this poem is about her inner feelings of how people didn't
understand her and that on the outside she may have been a bright, funny
person but on the inside she was dying. So this poem reflects that in my
opinion and that she is in fact talking about herself but using a man as
the character! Hope that might help some people understand it a bit
better.

Fran

Dolores de Manuel said...

In response to the post that says

"If you know about Stevie Smith, you

will know she was depressed and she unfortunately committed suicide. "

Yes, she was depressed, and attempted to commit suicide in 1953.
However, it seems that the suicide attempt was much more a cry for
help than a determined try—the attempt happened at work where she was
found and treated immediately.
She died of an inoperable brain tumor in 1971.

Ideas de negocios said...

Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, but I am firmly convinced of this and love to learn more about the subject. If possible, acquire knowledge, would you update your blog with more information? It is very helpful to me

Unknown said...

Thank you Dr.EZIZA for a wonderful spell you casted for me that brought back my lover within 48 hours.. With these i am convinced that you are sent to this world to rescue people from heart break and to restore broken marriage.. Whoever is having difficulties in his relationship should contact Dr.EZIZA at: ezizaspellhome@gmail.com, Better still you can call him on +2347068534025. He is the solution to any relationship problem and the solution to marriage difficulties.

Unknown said...

I came to this site just to testify to the world one powerful man that brought my lover back to me within the period of 48 hours, Whose name and contact information are Dr.EZIZA and you can contact him at ezizaspellhome@gmail.com or call +2347068534025. At first i never believe that he will ever be able to bring back my lover to me but today through the help of Dr.EZIZA myself and my lover are back together and happy much more than ever.

Anonymous said...

There is no doubt that there are fake spell casters every where online but the works and results of Dr Zadson is evident and after being scammed by various spell casters i finally found the email of eduduzadsontemple@gmail.com and i told him all my problems and in 48 hours my husband who left me came back to me as a result of the help from Dr Zadson
Contact him via

eduduzadsontemple@gmail.com or call +23480711222070
And be rest assured of results....

Anonymous said...

good
Mengobati Kemaluan Keluar Nanah Secara Tradisional
Mengobati Kemaluan Keluar Nanah
Mengobati Kelamin Keluar Nanah Secara Tradisional
Mengobati Kemaluan Keluar Nanah Secara alami
Mengobati Kemaluan Keluar Nanah Secara herbal
Mengobati Kemaluan Keluar Nanah Tanpa ke Dokter
Mengobati Kemaluan Keluar Nanah
Mengobati Kemaluan Keluar Nanah Tanpa harus ke Dokter
Mengobati Keluar Nanah Tanpa ke Dokter
Mengobati Kelamin Keluar Nanah Tanpa ke Dokter
Mengobati Kemaluan Keluar Nanah dengan Herbal
Mengobati Kemaluan Keluar Nanah
Mengobati Keluar Nanah dengan Herbal
Mengobati Kelamin Keluar Nanah dengan Herbal
Mengobati sakit Kemaluan Keluar Nanah dengan Herbal
mengobati atau menghilangkan kutil di kemaluan
mengobati atau menghilangkan kutil kemaluan
menghilangkan kutil di kemaluan
mengobati kutil di kemaluan
mengobati atau menghilangkan penyakit kutil di kemaluan
Cara Mengobati atau Menghilangkan Kutil di Kemaluan
Cara Menghilangkan Kutil di Kemaluan
Cara ampuh Mengobati atau Menghilangkan Kutil di Kemaluan
Cara Mengobati Kutil di Kemaluan
Cara alami Mengobati atau Menghilangkan Kutil di Kemaluan
Mengobati atau Menghilangkan Kutil di Kemaluan Tanpa Operasi
Mengobati atau Menghilangkan Kutil di Kemaluan
Menghilangkan Kutil di Kemaluan Tanpa Operasi
Mengobati Kutil di Kemaluan Tanpa Operasi
Mengobati atau Menghilangkan penyakit Kutil di Kemaluan Tanpa Operasi
Mengobati atau Menghilangkan Kutil di Kemaluan Tanpa ke Dokter
Mengobati atau Menghilangkan Kutil di Kemaluan
Menghilangkan Kutil di Kemaluan Tanpa ke Dokter
Mengobati Kutil di Kemaluan Tanpa ke Dokter
Mengobati atau Menghilangkan penyakit Kutil di Kemaluan Tanpa ke Dokter
Mengobati atau Menghilangkan Kutil di Kemaluan Secara Alami
Menghilangkan Kutil di Kemaluan Secara Alami
Mengobati atau Menghilangkan Kutil di Kemaluan yang Secara Alami
Mengobati Kutil di Kemaluan Secara Alami

zarena cantik said...

perfect perfect fried rice, good post for the beginners as well..Super Prema, loved the presentation very much
Selaput Dara Buatan
Vimax asli Canada
Obat Perangsang
viagra usa
Bio Slim Herbal
Boneka Full Body
vimax canada

herbaldenature said...

Cara mengobati benjolan wasir secara alami dengan Ambejoss dan salep Salwa adalah cara mengobati penyakit ambeien dengan menggunakan herbal alami yang aman. Ambejoss terbuat dari tanaman yang sangat berkhasiat menyembuhkan ambeien dan cukup langka yakni tanaman daun ungu. Tanaman daun ungu ini berasal dari pulau Papua serta Polynesia dan kemudian menyebar ke beberapa wilayah Indonesia lainnya. Penduduk lokal sudah memanfaatkan tanaman daun ungu ini untuk digunakan dalam http://bunchmail.org/cara-mengobati-wasir-secara-alami-dan-cepat sejak zaman nenek moyang mereka

Obat kutil di kemaluanHal inilah yang menjadi penyebab kenapa akhirnya banyak penderita yang mencoba berbagai solusi pengobatan herbal dan semacamnya. untuk cara pemesanana silahkan kunjungobat kutil di kemaluan tanpa operasi



obat kemaluan keluar nanahDan kondisi ini dapat semakin parah dan kemudian menimbulkan berbagai macam komplikasi seperti peradangan sendi dan infeksi jantung. Hal yang seperti ini dapat dicegah dengan mengenali gejala awalnya, sehingga penyakit ini tidak bertambah parah. untuk cara pemesanana silahkan kunjungblog

bocahganteng said...

Very nice
Resep Obat Ambeien Terdaftar di BPOM
Resep Obat Penyakit Ambeien Terdaftar di BPOM
Resep Obat Ambeien Parah Terdaftar di BPOM
Resep Obat Ambeien Ibu Hamil Terdaftar di BPOM
Resep Obat Ambeien Stadium 1 Terdaftar di BPOM
Cari Obat Ambeien Terdaftar di BPOM
Cari Obat Ambeien Sudah Terdaftar di BPOM
Cari Obat Ambeien Resmi Terdaftar di BPOM
Cari Obat Sakit Ambeien Terdaftar di BPOM
Cari Obat Benjolan Ambeien Terdaftar di BPOM
Beli Obat Ambeien Terdaftar di BPOM
Beli Obat Wasir Ambeien Terdaftar di BPOM
Beli Obat Ambeien Yang Sudah Terdaftar di BPOM
Beli Obat Kapsul Ambeien Terdaftar di BPOM
Beli Obat Alami Ambeien Terdaftar di BPOM
Obat Ambeien yang Terdaftar di BPOM
Obat Ambeien Ambejoss yang Terdaftar di BPOM
Obat Salep Ambeien yang Terdaftar di BPOM
Obat Ambeien Telanjur Parah yang Terdaftar di BPOM
Harga Obat Ambeien yang Terdaftar di BPOM
Obat Ambeien Herbal Terdaftar di BPOM
Merk Obat Ambeien Herbal Terdaftar di BPOM
Nama Obat Ambeien Herbal Terdaftar di BPOM
Obat Ambeien Herbal Terdaftar di BPOM Tanpa Operasi
Obat Ambeien Herbal Terdaftar di BPOM Murah
Menghilangkan Kutil di Kemaluan Wanita
Cara Menghilangkan Kutil di Kemaluan Wanita
Menghilangkan Kutil di Sekitar Kemaluan Wanita
Menghilangkan Kutil di Kemaluan Wanita Secara Alami
Menghilangkan Kutil di Kemaluan Wanita Menggunakan Herbal
Cara Menghilangkan Kutil di Kemaluan Wanita
Cara Cepat dan Murah Menghilangkan Kutil di Kemaluan Wanita
Cara Untuk Menghilangkan Kutil di Kemaluan Wanita
Cara Menghilangkan Benjolan Kutil di Kemaluan Wanita
Kumpulan Cara Menghilangkan Kutil di Kemaluan Wanita

Unknown said...

I was not happy until i met Dr.Agbazara through these details +2348104102662 OR agbazara@gmail.com because my husband has left me and never had the intention of coming back home. But just within 48 hours that i contacted Dr. Agbazara my marriage changed to the positive side, At first my husband came back home and since then my marriage has been more peaceful and romantic than ever before

Anonymous said...

intext:"nice article" "comments" "obat penguat"
prediksi bola

emo said...


شركة بريق متخصصة فى النظافة العامة بجدة تنظيف شقق فلل مكاتب مساجد تنظيف بالبخار بجدة تنظيف مفروشات ستائر مجالس سجاد كنب غسيل الاسطح وتنظيف الخزانات الكشف عن تسريبات المياه رش المبيدات وقتل الحشرات بأفضل الاسعار وأعلى جودة - شركة تنظيف منازل بجدة - شركة غسيل منازل بجدة - شركة تنظيف منازل بالبخار بجدة - شركة ترتيب وتنظيف المنازل بجدة - مكتب تنظيف منازل بجدة - شركة رسمية لتنظيف المنازل بجدة - مؤسسة رسمية لتنظيف المنازل بجدة - مين جربت شركات تنظيف المنازل بجدة - كم أسعار شركات تنظيف المنازل بجدة - أسعار شركات تنظيف المنازل بجدة - شركة تنظيف منازل بجده - تنظيف البيوت بجدة - شركة تنظيف كنب بجدة - شركة تنظيف بخار بجدة - شركة تنظيف فلل بجدة - شركة تنظيف شقق بجدة - شركة نظافة في جدة - شركة نقل عفش بجدة - ارخص شركه تنظيف بجده - شركه تنظيف بالبخار بجدة - تنظيف المسابح والخزانات - شركة تنظيف مجالس بجدة - شركة تنظيف مفروشات بالبخار بجدة - تنظيف الاسطح والارضيات - رش المبيدات ومكافحة الحشرات - عزل الأسطح والخزانات - نظافة شقق المغتربين والمقيمين - تنظيف الاستراحات تنظيف الخيام

مؤسسة توكلنا said...

بريق كليين افضل شركة تنظيف منازل بالباحة وقد تم تصنفيها ضمن افضل شركات التنظيف فى الباحة والتي تتميز بجودة الخدمات التي تقدمها وكفاءة فريق العمل القائم على هذه الأعمال، كما تتميز أيضا شركتنا بتوفير جميع خدمات التنظيف إلى العملاء، التنظيف الجاف و التنظيف بالبخار لذا عزيزي العميل إذا كنت ترغب في تنظيف المنازل و العمائر و الفلل والقصور و الشقق و المساجد و المكاتب و المؤسسات و الشركات و الفنادق و المدارس و الخزانات و المسابح و الارضيات و الأسطح و التعامل مع شركة تنظيف على مستوى عالي من الاحترافية والتميز، وكذبك شركة تنظيف منازل بالباحة لخدمات التنظيف فيمكنكم التواصل معنا للحصول على أفضل الخدمات التي نجتهد في تقديمها حتى تنال على إعجاب واستحسان عملائنا الكرام.
شركة تنظيف بالباحة
شركة تنظيف منازل بالباحة
شركة غسيل منازل بالباحة
شركة تنظيف منازل بالبخار بالباحة
مكتب تنظيف منازل بالباحة
شركة رسمية لتنظيف المنازل بالباحة
مؤسسة رسمية لتنظيف المنازل بالباحة
أسعار شركات تنظيف المنازل بالباحة
تنظيف البيوت بالباحة
شركة تنظيف منازل بالباحة
شركة تنظيف كنب بالباحة
شركة تنظيف بخار بالباحة
شركة تنظيف فلل بالباحة
شركة تنظيف شقق بالباحة
شركة نظافة في الباحة
شركة نظافة بالباحة
ارخص شركه تنظيف بالباحه
افضل شركه تنظيف بالباحه
شركه تنظيف بالبخار بالباحة
افضل شركة نظافة بالباحة
تنظيف المسابح والخزانات
شركة تنظيف مجالس بالباحة

Post a Comment