What did the swimmer hear as he was facing the bath house(poem:swimmers by Louis Untermeyer)
Answers
'Swimmers' by Louis Untermeyer is an allegorical poem which focuses on life and death and discusses the closeness of the two. It shows that the fact of death cannot diminish life and that we must live life to the fullest. At one level, the poem also shows the conflict between man and nature. It brings out the poet's extreme optimism and energy.
The poet persona is not worried about deep, philosophical questions such as why he was born and where he must go when he dies as he is focused on the battles of life. The poem shows us that just as the sea is endless, the hardships in life are also infinite. Life is a perilous adventure. It stands for battles, thrill and pushing oneself to the limit. People who realize this know that there is no easy way out. Like Ayn Rand says, "There is only one fundamental alternative in the universe: existence or non-existence - and it pertains to living organisms. The existence or non-existence of inanimate matter is unconditional - the existence of life is not: it depends on a specific course of action. Matter is indestructible, it changes its forms, but it cannot cease to exist. It is only a living organism that faces a constant alternative: the issue of life or death."
The soul is timeless and death is only a parting with one's body. In life, people become attached to their comforts, identities and beliefs and take them for granted. They live in the belief that these materialistic things will last forever and are afraid to let go of them. People invariably dread dying because they know that these comforts which make them feel secure cannot be taken into the afterlife. On the other hand, those who stand up and face hardships, who "dive headlong into the foremost breaker" have nothing to lose when they die.
The sea is a symbol of all the battles of life. The poet doesn't care if he wins because in facing a stronger opponent he becomes stronger himself. His aim is the struggle and not the reward. He is so optimistic that for him, death itself is the reward for "the feverish intensity of life," for him Death is a long and vivid holiday. This poem reminds us that life is transient and death is eternal. Everything in life is uncertain except death. Nobody can tell what the future holds but everyone knows that if one is born, one must eventually die. Death is the necessary salvation and release from the endless circles of life.
Thus death is not the end but the beginning of a new existence, the rest that comes after one had breathed one's last and a vivid holiday only if one has struggled in life.
The 'Swimmers' are the people who do not get washed away by life's challenges. They, like the poet persona, treat death as a shore of the ocean that they must reach after the long, hard swim of life. They live Life to the hilt and hence don't cringe from Death. Imagine for a moment that you are immortal, you would live forever but one by one everyone around you would die. The world would change through the ages while you remain caged in the same body for eternity. The poet makes us see that just as Life is a gift, Death is not doom, but a gift that breaks the spirit free from the shackles of life.
HOPE IT HELPS YOU
PLEASE MARK ME AS BRAINLIEST...