Casabianca

I chose the poem called “Casabianca” written by Felicia Dorothea Hemans, because of the intense sense of imagery it contained.  This poem is about a moment in time where a brave young boy stands on board a ship about to engulfed in flames.  Hemans has vivid imagery of flames rolling along the ship and catching the flag on fire lighting up the sky.  He will not move until his father tells him to without the knowledge of the fact his father is already dead.  Heman’s lonely and heart wrenching image of the boy standing tall and brave but surrounded by death in the waters below touches the readers on an emotional level.  The young boy shows bravery and courage as he waits for his father’s reply about his task.  The young boy continued to call out to his father asking if his task had been completed, “Speak father, must I stay?".  His only answers were booming shots and flames cracking and bringing the ship under water.  The rolling flames symbolize the burning devotion and love the boy has for his father.  The fire brings death to many but life to boy’s undying love and his father’s authority.  He is not going to leave the ship unless his father tells him to do so. Even when the boys knows what is to become of his fate he stands tall and brave and waits. He is still strong enough not to leave his place on the ship even with the certainty of death.  The last explosion of the ship surrounds the boy with light and increases the boy presence and courage in the last few moments of his life.  The last lines of the poem summed the poem together flawlessly, “the noblest thing that perished there was that young, faithful heart.”  The boy’s death was heard louder than all the other deaths put together, enhancing the boy’s courage and loyalty to his father.  The ship had done its part and stood strong as long as it could with stand the heat of the battle but nothing compares to the nobility of the young boy this battle could not beat.