Casabianca (Both of them)

            May I just say that I am very glad that no one has written a blog on either of these poems because I believe there is a perfect comparison that needs to be made. The first poem with the title of Casabianca by Felicia Dorothea Hemans is a beautiful retelling of how a young boy’s life came to a tragic end on the Orient as it was consumed with flames. I did a little research about the ship and the incident. It turns out that the Orient was French navel fleets flagship, responsible for leading the navy into Egypt. Quickly it become obvious that the Orient was the British army’s main target and was promptly attacked as soon as it hit the Nile. Most of the men aboard abandoned ship “The boy stood on the burning deck whence all but he had fled” (line 1-2); but the boy stayed on the deck with his father, Luc-Julien-Joseph Casabianca, the captain. The poem potrays the boy asking if he can leave but is unaware that his father is unconscious or possible dead, we of course have no way of knowing this. In the end, all hope is lost as are the two saliors. My favorite lines from this poem would have to be “They wrapt the ship in splendor wild, They caught the flag on high, And stream’d about the gallant child, Like banners in the sky” (lines 29-32). The imagery is beautiful as is the use of simalies and metaphors.

            Now let’s move on to the next Casabianca poem by Elisabeth Bishop written more than a hundred years later. I loved this poem; for me it came across as more of a peom. Unlike Hemans’ poem, this one had more of a creative license and flowed more smoothly. It wasn’t a retelling of a story as much but a piece about love and loyalty. In this poem, the boy does not leave the ship because of respect for the ship or his father (though his father is not mentioned in this one, on historical context, I’m going with it) instead of simply being unsure of what to do. I enjoyed this poem more than the first one, but both were great. My favorite lines from this piece would have to be “Love’s the obstinate boy, the ship, even the swimming sailors, who would like a schoolroom platform, too, or an excuse to say on deck. And love’s the burning boy” (lines 6-10). I liked that there were two poems on the same topic... it made for a good read. Oh and here's a link to a picture of the incident: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Aboukir.jpg