Shores: Stanza 3

Shores: Stanza 3

“Shores”: Stanza 3

Vivid Imagery and Metaphoric Representation

• Stanza 3 of “Shores” brings forth vivid imagery of the sea through phrases like ‘but the roaring sea’ and ‘eternal tide’.
• These images give the reader a sense of incessant movement, power, and unpredictability, that mirrors the tumultuous emotions in the verse.
• The mention of the ‘roaring sea’ and ‘eternal tide’, serve as metaphors symbolising the continuo of existence - despite hardships and despair, life goes on.

Expressive Language and Tone

• The poet uses expressive language leading to a sombre and contemplative tone. Phrases such as ‘eternal tide’, ‘roaring sea’, and ‘quiet shore’ make the reader not only visualise the scene but also resonate with the emotional depth.
• By contrasting the ‘quiet shore’ and the ‘roaring sea’, Sorley paints a picture of conflict and tranquility, and thus highlights life’s paradoxes.

Symbolism and Simile

• The ‘shore’ and ‘sea’ in this verse can be seen as symbols for human life and death. The shore, with its calmness, can signify life while the vast and powerful sea could symbolise death.
• The ‘eternal tide’ washing the shore can be viewed as a simile for the persistent cycle of life and death. Just like the tide, life’s joys and sorrows come and go endlessly.

Thought-provoking Realism

• The phrase ‘eternal tide still flows’ triggers thoughts about the inescapability of aging and death. Despite the human desire for permanence, time moves on relentlessly.
• Sorley instils a sense of realism, emphasising how every life, like every day, has to surrender to the greater cosmic flow indicated by the ‘eternal tide’.