Aqueous Transmission
...e individual’s solitude, and imagery is used though out the whole song. This strikes curiosity in the reader because he or she might be wondering if it is an actual river or something deeper. The second line “Oars freed from their homes long ago” is the most significant line to support the thesis of the song. On a literal level the oars have been removed from their normal position, in their oar locks to the inside of the boat or they were left on shore. Without these oars the speaker can not drive the boat in any direction and must surrender all control of the boat to the river. Relating to this loss of control of the vessel, he does not have control of where his emotions take him, but he does have control of how he acts. Now that he has freed the oars he has in a sense freed his life and submitted to where it might take him. The speaker learned to do this “long ago” as stated in the end of the line. “Lying face up on the floor of my vessel” is from lines three and four. These two lines also show imagery just like the first line. When the speaker has his face up to the sky he is vulnerable to what may happen to him which is a small theme that is played out in the song. This position also shows how his is willing to any experience and is waiting to see what might happen. But with the following line five it indicates that just because he is vulnerable does not mean that he will be overcome by his emotions. He is enjoying this view and journey even though he does not know what to expect. The last line of that section states “and feel my heart overflow” which is directly related to the emotions in his heart. In addition, this line refers back to lines three and four because he appreciates what he sees all around him. To have his heart “overflow” emphasizes the positive feeling that the speaker is having in this situation. Time does not play a huge factor in this song, but it is a means of showing progression in the speaker’s way of processing the emotions inside of him. Furthermore, time can be shown though the first paragraph as being past, the second being present and the third being future goals. In addition to the factor of time, word order plays a significant part in what the author is trying to convey. This experience that is taking the speaker time to go through is a time that he needs to dissect his emotions. In line seven, the word “further” shows that the speaker is moving in a continual state of emotion. This line is also seen two more times separating the three main sections of the text. Also, the word “down” is focused on, because the poem is going downward to imply going down and searching those emotions inside. After the dissection of line 7, one can begin to look at the second section in the song. This section represents the present state that the speaker is going though. He has gone “two weeks without” his lover and has been alone this whole journey. I believe that he is trying to figure his feelings out about his love; therefore, he has not opened up to her emotionally so she’s not on the boat with him. Line ten states that he has been floating on the river of emotion this whole time. The author might have placed this in the middle instead of the beginning so that the reader would have to dissect the song more intensely. Line 11 is significant because it is the central line. This line asks the question “Will I make it back to shore?” This land at the edge of the river might be a form of support for the speaker. The shore could be referring to a place of stability in which the speaker does not have to struggle with his emotions anymore. Even though he has been open to the experience of figuring out his emotions, the easy way out would be to get on shore where there is no difficulty. He was at t...