In the first verse both physical and emotional isolation are explored with the imagery of a drowned man. The first line, "Nobody heard him", introduces the physical isolation of the man as he was so far away no one could hear, but also could mean that no one was listening and understanding him, he was isolated by having no one to turn to. There is a confusion of tenses, "the dead man...lay moaning", however, the poet is using the dead man as a symbol for her own feelings of isolation; by just existing he embodies all she is trying to say and so is in effect "moaning" to her. This personal treatment of the theme helps us appreciate it more as it shows the poet has a deep understanding. The poet uses the first person narrative ambiguously and speaks on two layers using the persona of the dead man to speak her own thoughts. The lines

"I was much further out than you thought

apply to the actual location of the drowning man, far out in the water and out of his dept

are a slight change from the ones in the first verse and emphasis that suffering cannot only be taken into account once someone is dead, it may have been occurring for a long time and people have just not been noticing.

In 'Not Waving But Drowning' the poet employs many techniques such as the use of persona and the first person narrative making the poem seem very personal which deepens the reader's appreciation of the theme of isolation. Repetition also is used effectively to reinforce the meaning of certain phrases making them stand out helping us to appreciate them, and so the theme, in the context. Isolation is explored deeply as the main theme of the poem showing how important a factor it can be in people's personal lives and yet not visible to the people around them.

Isolation through the misunderstanding of other people is also explored in the second verse. It becomes apparent that people did not realise how the dead man felt, putting his death down to a practical joke gone wrong "he always loved larking". The word "larking" has connotations of frivolity and light heartedness and yet it is clear to the reader that the man didn't feel that way and was crying for help, for someone to

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 812
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)