Casabianca

     Casabianca is a poem, written by Felicia Dorothea Hemens, that is saturated with vivid images of the story that lay behind the words. I felt that three major images that reoccured throughout the poem, and ultimately helped to piece together not only the storyline but the intimate emotions of the characters themselves, are: the boy's form, his shouts for his father, and the flames/ burning deck. The boy's form was an interesting twist early on because I originally began reading the poem under the impression that the main character would be a typical burly, rugged, intimidating lumberjack on a courageous journey. However, the fact that he is announced as a "boy" that was in the midst of a burning wasteland quickly eliminated any chances of a happily ever after. Seeing as to how it is a young boy and not a man helped to inspire sympathy and heartbreak from the reader. It made me personally assume that he was helpless and that he was alone. The fact that this youth constantly called out to his father not for help, but to fulfill his duties to the fullest extent, " Speak father, must I stay?" combined flawlessly to switch the scene from a lost child on the battlefield, to a soldier defending his country with honor. Rather than calling out for help and running for the hills, but asking for his father's permission to leave his post enforces the image of a true brave soul that this boy really is. Lastly, the flames and burning of the land add in the final touch of the overall scheme of things, which is the ultimate sacrifice. "The flame that lit the battle's wreck shone round him o'er the dead" creates a magnificent scene of death and destruction surrounding the main character and amplifies the mood vastly once the young soldier offers his own life as a sacrifice, rather than abandon his responsibilities. The flames brought to life not only the dying land surrounding our hero, but his undying love for his father's authority and command.  All three of these visual components utilized imagery flawlessly and blended superbly into one titanic scene of a boy, shouting for his father, amidst a background of flames.