not waving but drowning

Nobody heard him, the dead man,

But still he lay moaning:

I was much further out than you thought

And not waving but drowning.

Poor chap, he always loved larking

And now he’s dead

It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way,

They said.

Oh, no no no, it was too cold always

(Still the dead one lay moaning)

I was much too far out all my life

And not waving but drowning.

Not Waving but Drowning by Stevie Smith is a heartbreaking poem about a man, who drowned.
The text involves three four-line stanzas which can be seen as irregular but when one takes a deeper
look, you may notice how it is a metaphor for the poem itself; the lines may portray the waves, a
classic outlook on the ups and downs of life. The poet has dealt with issues regarding her mental
health and is conveying how she felt during those times, through a man who drowned. A man who
asked for help but no one seemed to notice, how everyone around him misunderstood how he felt,
and why they might have done that. This poem talks about the real image of what it's like being
surrounded by people, but no one recognizing how you truly feel.

The poem begins with, “Nobody heard him, the dead man,” the man being talked about here has not
died yet but is already being referred to as “dead”. This implies how lifeless and decayed he may
have become, whilst struggling with mental health. How his lack of interests and feelings have
come into his way of everyday life, making him emotionally drained.

“I was much further out than you thought”, this powerful line brings in a sorrowful tone, such that
the readers started to pity the man. “than you thought,” This shows how nobody noticed. Nobody
realized what he was going through at the time and how he never reached out to anyone. Hence
when he was “not waving but drowning”, he knew he was drowning but asked someone to help, to
pull him out of his state before he was lost underwater. This effect of the water has a scene of
imagery in it; for when your head goes under the water, no one can hear you speak. He felt as
though he was trying to speak but he had no voice. Yet, when no one hears him and he drowns,
people still don’t understand and have their own interpretations of him, “than you thought”. There
is a juxtaposition of the verbs, “moaning”, “waving” and “drowning”, bringing in the hopeless idea
of how he was trying his best to speak, to swim, but he was already dying.
“Poor chap, he always loved larking” As the second stanza begins, this line discovers a deeper
version of the man. “Poor chap”, a sense of pity for the dead man but this tone changes since the
man was known for “larking”. He was always making jokes and was known as someone who did
not take things too seriously, maybe because he feared that people may look at him in a certain way,
how he did not want to be seen as he sees himself, thus he begins to put on an act. The theme of
illusion gets released within this line, how everyone thought he was cheerful and had a reputation
for being the uplifting spirit but in reality, he was constantly being overtaken by the thoughts in his
head and he had lost all will to go on with his life. The despairing truth behind his line is that he
would be the last person anyone would expect to be dealing with anxiety and depression.

Moreover, how he was using putting up a façade to cope with the fact that he had lost all
direction. “And now he’s dead” Readers may relate to this as when one is dealing with depression,
they may not always have the solution or the knowledge of what is happening to them. This makes
reaching out to people extremely difficult, it may cause a person to feel overloaded with emotions,
falling out of touch with reality. Regardless of what is true or not, that is how the brain has wired
itself to think; affecting the idea of trying to open up to people. “It must have been too cold for him
his heart gave way, They said.” The perspective pronoun of “they”, here shows the vast distance the
man has created between the people around him and himself. They said it was too cold for him to
stay alive, that’s what they think to happen. He died only because the water got to him and he could
not bear the harsh weather anymore.

Although this may be true the last stanza opens up, continuing with the last. “Oh, no no no, it was
too cold always” The man is correcting those who thought he simply drowned due to the freezing
weather and asking them to rethink and understand that his heart had been frozen and numb for long
before he died. He had been suffering and had learned to become comfortable in pain for so long,
that the cold weather had no involvement at all. This metaphor shows different perspectives of what
“they” think to happen and what truly happened. Continuing in with the theme of Illusions, readers
understand why “they”, may think this way; due to a lack of communication. “(Still the dead one
lay moaning)”, connecting back to the first stanza, with repetition; this imagery gives the readers
another glance as to what it feels like you are continually drowning in your mind and how it may
slowly come out in your physical state. He “still” continues to lay there, trying to speak, but “the
dead one” can’t talk to anyone. He is named “the dead one”, which also shows a symbol for those
having to deal with mental health issues. How their mental health should not define one or label
one’s personality. This again connects with how he never reached out to anyone. “I was much too
far out all my life”, this line suggests the social isolation that he has experienced.

Mental health usually has this effect on people where they do not want to socialize with others due
to the fact that they may convince themselves to feel in a different way. This can be interpreted in
many ways, maybe they have convinced themselves that people feel differently about them or they
feel invisible to their loved ones. He was “too far out”, he was never in contact with people for this
side of himself. The final stanza ends with the repeated line, “And not waving but drowning.”
Reminding the readers of how he tried his best, within his capabilities to reach out, yet no one
understood so he gave up.

The theme of mental health is portrayed here with a mesmerizing yet sorrowful tone that reminds all
readers to check up on people. People who are mentally unstable have a tendency to hide away,
thinking that it protects them. They feel unsupported at times. Smith compares the idea of drowning
in water to the way one drowns in their own mind. The poet asks the readers to think deeper about
those who may be asking for help, asking for reassurance through difficult times.

Smith portrays the idea of feeling alone, and helpless, and sets an image of how deeply empty
people can feel. She makes clear how the man tries to reach out for help, with repetition, the readers
understand how he tried to express himself multiple times, yet it was not enough. He held himself
back due to the fear of being judged or looked at differently. This is a strong message and reminder
to not define one based on their hardships and how that may be a reason people refuse to open up.