Before posting as a comment, this is your opportunity to go back and re-evaluate your work, your topic-driven paragraph response to Robertson's "Waves."
Think of this as your third draft in the recursive writing process: after creating a first (rough) draft, you submitted your second draft on Canvas last Wednesday, August 26th. So this should be your third draft.
After your classmates have an opportunity to comment on your work, you will have an opportunity to write a fourth and final draft for submission on Canvas. Coach Kirk will then have an opportunity to chime in. Oh, the joy! ^_^
Ashton Dickerson
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ENGL 3353
25 August 2015
The theme of monumental regret weaves like a thread throughout Robin Robertson’s poem “Waves”. The man in the poem may very well be dying or at least past a certain milestone in his life where he carries regret. His time has passed (“I have swum too far”) and now there is no chance of going back (“The sun has gone”). The lines “I am very tired and cold” are referring figuratively to the feeling of death overcoming him instead of the literal feeling of being cold and tired from swimming for too long. He regrets “The children I never had” and possibly even the fact of never having a wife. His regret is immortalized in the fact that his sun has gone, yet “The beach is still bright.” When the children’s mother looks up from her magazine and waves, she is not waving hello. Rather, she is waving goodbye to the irreversible past. “Waves” by Robin Robertson epitomizes the regret one feels at the end of their life.
Mikkaela Bailey
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ENGL 3533
26 August 2015
Waves Explication
The poem “Waves” by Robin Robertson is a portrait of the emotional turmoil of longing for a relinquished opportunity with very little hope of a second chance. In the first three lines he describes the state of his emotions by writing about swimming beyond his ability to cope. The imagery of the sun setting is symbolic of the end, so the reader’s initial impression may be that this is about death by drowning, which is reinforced by the second stanza. In the third stanza, Robertson describes how he is giving in to the pull of what the reader would most likely assume to be the open ocean. It is revealed in the fourth stanza that he is actually giving in to the hopelessness of missed opportunity while questioning what life could have been like if only he had done things a bit differently. “Waves” is a unique expression of emotion through metaphor because it uses the idea of literal death initially to clearly express the death of a lost desire.
Katy Dyches
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ENGL 3353
4 September 2015
“Waves” Explication
Robin Robertson’s poem “Waves” expresses a deep longing for the things which might have been. In the first stanza, he says “I have swum too far out of my depth and the sun has gone.” The phrase “too far out of my depth” suggests that the narrator is no longer where he belongs, and “the sun has gone” tells that the light has faded and soon the shore of memories, of opportunities, of what-ifs will be not only out of reach, but out of sight. For now, though, the “beach is still bright.” The narrator can still see what lies on the shore, even after everything else has faded away, because his own longing and regret illuminates the bygone possibilities. The narrator dreams of the “children [he] never had,” and their beautiful, loving mother. These are happy, lovely images of good things, but the narrator is distanced from them, looking back. They are beyond hope of attaining. So the mother, the good which might have been, looks up and waves goodbye.
Amanda McMahon
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ENGL 3353
25 August 2015
Waves Explication
In the poem "Waves," Robin Robertson portrays the account of a man who has given up his fight of living the idealistic life. The man has fought against the "currents that pull like weed" to reach the standard set for him, but has grown too weary to continue. He is "too far out of [his] depth and the sun has gone." He can still the life he was supposed to lead because the "beach is still bright" and the children "run to the edge." The man got so close to having the perfect family, a life in the sun, but he grew too tired to continue fighting for it. The man drifts out to sea as the beautiful mother, who represents the life he strove for and failed to obtain, waves goodbye.
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Kelsey Wheatle
English 3353
Professor Kirk
August 25, 2015
Waves by Robin Robertson is an in intriguing poem. The first thing I noticed about the poem is
the way that the stanzas are set up. In each stanza there are three lines, all of the same approximate
length. Because of the way the stanzas in the poem are set up, it lead me to believe that the poem
would represent simplicity. Waves is a simple poem because it talks about a peaceful death. This is a
poem about a character who is drowning because they have swam too far out into sea. As this
character is being pulled by the currents, they do not mention anything about struggling to stay afloat,
or struggling to swim back to shore. Instead, this character takes time to appreciate the bright beach,
and the children playing on the beach’s shore, while their mother watches safely. The death of this
character was simple, peaceful, and calm, just like the stanzas in this poem. Analyzing this poem, it is
almost as if the character either planned their death; or knew that they were dying, yet, the action of
drowning and dying in the ocean was the perfect and most peaceful way to go.
Kelsey Wheatle
Professor Kirk
English 3353
4 September 2015
In Robin Robertson's "Waves", Robinson portrays that death can be horrendous, yet simple and beautiful. The first thing I noticed about the poem is the way that the stanzas are set up. In each stanza there are three lines, all of the same approximate length. Because of the way the stanzas in the poem are set up, it lead me to believe that the poem would represent simplicity. "Waves" is a simple poem because it talks about a peaceful death. This is a poem about a character who is drowning because they have swam too far out into sea. As this character is being pulled by the currents, they do not mention anything about struggling to stay afloat, or struggling to swim back to shore. Instead, this character takes time to appreciate the bright beach, and the children playing on the beach’s shore, while their mother watches safely. The death of this character was simple, peaceful, and calm, just like the stanzas in this poem. Analyzing this poem, it is almost as if the character either planned their death; or knew that they were dying, yet, the notion of being lost at sea brought forth a peaceful feeling. Even though his death seemed hard at first, he found beauty in it. "The beach is still bright./The children I never had run to the edge and back to their beautiful mother/".(10-14). Beauty is found in his death as he looks and reflects back on the beach, which can be a contrast to his life. The action of drowning and dying at sea for the character was the perfect and most peaceful way to go.
Callie Brothers
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English 3353
September 4, 2015
Most poems that are written usually to portray something, like death, life, the four seasons, love, etc. But these are simple things, things that happen every day, that never cease. Throughout this poem, we see the reoccurring situation of death. The character dies peacefully, a feeling surrounds him and the image of being lost at sea is the setting in his mind. The idea of being lost at sea, knowing that they are never coming back, the feeling of positive thinking. He pursues the idea of admiring the beach, describing the sand and the idea that life and death are simple things. Leading this "life" because "the beach is still bright." This man strived for many things but lost the strength and the confidence to stay. Looking back towards the shore line, slowly drifting, seeing his wife wave, one final time.
Robin Robertson’s poem “Waves,” is very dark, and expresses an overwhelming feeling that the narrator experiences. The narrator is overwhelmed, perhaps by choices he/she has made, perhaps just by circumstances. The poem itself seems to be a metaphor for life. The visuals of the ocean waves, which can be peaceful, are used in this poem to be something that is constricting the narrator. The narrator is alone, though there are other people around him/her. This is seen in the visual of the children “I never had” and “their beautiful mother who smiles at them” (11, 13-14). The title of the poem could have two meanings: it could be describing the ocean that the narrator is stuck in or the gesture that the woman makes in the very last line. While she seems to be greeting her children, it could be concluded that she is also waving farewell to the narrator.
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