The Convergence of the Twain

Thomas Hardy used the very format of his stanzas to emphasize his message of temporary vanity versus permanence of the fate of the Titanic.  All of his stanzas in The Convergence of the Twain are composed of two short lines followed by a longer line.  "Jewels in joy designed; To ravish the sensuous mind; Lie lightless, all their sparkles bleared and black and blind" (Hardy, 778).  The two shorter lines talk about the vain extravagance of the ship.  The significance of their brevity symbolizes the short-lived beauty and appreciation of the Titanic and all the work that went into it to make it so grand.  The longer lines, like the one from the above excerpt, relay the reality of the situation now; all of the beauty and vanity lies on the bottom of the ocean.  The speaker supplies vivid snapshots of specific images aboard the ship.  He goes down to the last, vain and petty detail.  He makes it clear that, in his opinion, the beauty and elegance of the ship was useless the moment it hit the ocean floor.  The vanity of the objects and designers of the ship were oblivious to the tragic end that was drawing nearer.