I studied the poem “Casabianca” by Felicia Dorothea Hemans (1826), briefly, for my English class. All that was required was a short analysis, which I wrote days ago, yet I cannot stop thinking about it, so I decided to share my thoughts here. This poem is powerful. You may need to re-read it once or twice. [Click “Read Below” to see the poem.] I knew there must be a bigger story than I could see. I soon found that there was. The boy in the poem may have not been on the battlefield depected, but his father, Admiral Brueys, was, as the commander of the French. The battle described took place on August 1, 1798, between Napoleon and the English. It was called the Battle of the Nile (qtd. by "Poetry Archive). There is a theme of war and peace, which is all I saw at first. Then, I found an explanation which gave me a fresh lens to read the poem through, again, “...feminist scholars began to interpret ‘Casabianca’ as a subtle critique of patriotism,” (Gilbert and Gubar 481). In my second reading, I was able to clearly see where that interpretation comes from. The little boy was so loyal that it killed him. On the surface, his loyalty belonged to his father, but he symbolizes a country. I can also see how the poem can be twisted as a story of bravery, rather than tragedy. The line that most clearly demonstrates this is the last stanza, which ends with, “But the noblest thing which perish’d there / Was that young faithful heart!” (li. 39-40). I don’t think Hemans wrote those lines sincerely, after reading the pain in the rest of the poem. This is what she is seeing people choosing to focus on. Here, she mocks those crowds. He should not have died, and if he weren’t so loyal, he would not have. Yet, again, I can see how the meaning of the poem can be twisted. I would like to do more reading on the history behind this poem. The poem felt extremely emotional to me. I felt anguish in my gut when I was reading it. That proved to be just one layer. The first time I read it, I was left in shock. It is a beautiful poem and deeply haunting. I could see the flames getting higher and closer to the boy every time he called out for his father. Each time the boy called for his father, that he grew more desperate each time. He starts with, “He call’d aloud:-‘Say, Father, say / If yet my test is done?’” (li. 13-14), then, “‘Speak, Father!’ once again he cried, / ‘If I may yet be gone!’” (16-17), and finally “And shouted once more aloud, / ‘My Father! must I stay?’” (25-26). Hemans so clearly illustrates the fear the boy must have been feeling. It is truly heartbreaking. "Casabianca" by Felicia Dorothea HemansThe boy stood on the burning deck
Whence all but him had fled; The flame that lit the battle's wreck Shone round him o'er the dead. Yet beautiful and bright he stood, As born to rule the storm; A creature of heroic blood, A proud, though childlike form. The flames rolled on -- he would not go Without his father's word; That father, faint in death below, His voice no longer heard. He called aloud -- "Say, father, say, If yet my task is done?" He knew not that the chieftain lay Unconscious of his son. "Speak, father!" once again he cried, "If I may yet be gone!" And but the booming shots replied, And fast the flames rolled on. Upon his brow he felt their breath, And in his waving hair, And looked from that lone post of death In still, yet brave despair. And shouted but once more aloud, "My father! must I stay?" While o'er him fast, through sail and shroud, The wreathing fires made way. They wrapt the ship in splendor wild, They caught the flag on high, And streamed above the gallant child, Like banners in the sky. There came a burst of thunder sound-- The boy -- oh! where was he? Ask of the winds that far around With fragments strewed the sea!-- With mast, and helm, and pennon fair That well had borne their part-- But the noblest thing that perished there Was that young, faithful heart.
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