Alienation

In Stevie Smith's poem "Not Waving but Drowning," a man drowns and no one helps him because they think he is just waving at them. He cries out for help, too, but "nobody heard him," (line 1). Because he loved to joke around, too, no one believed that his moaning meant anything. No one cares enough to take the man seriously. The poem is therefore as much a comment on the spectators as it is on the dead man. The narrator of the poem has a detached tone, and refers to the man not by name but as "poor chap." The detached narrator helps to promote the theme of alienation that is central to "Not Waving but Drowning."

The act of drowning, and floating away at sea, is a symbol of alienation. By floating away by himself, the man makes himself a genuine island. He is cut off from...
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