For as much as this poem has to say about the circle of life, it's also a poem that has a whole lot to say about death. Death is literally everywhere in "The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls." The poem takes place at twilight (the death of the day), a traveler is seen leaving the shore for the last time (he is dead by the end of the poem), and the speaker keeps telling us that, while the tide rises, it also falls (in a sense, it dies). Even though death is a part of life, and that's kind of a bummer, life does go on, and there might just be something after death.
Questions About Death
- Okay, decision time: is this poem more about life, or more about death? Why do you think so?
- What is the speaker's take on the afterlife? Does he believe in one? Why or why not?
- Why use the tides as a metaphor in a poem about death? What effect does this have?
- What's the deal with those white hands, really? Do they seem out of place to you? Why or why not?
Chew on This
The tide rises, and the tide falls, but we all know the tide rises again, which suggests that there is something after death.
"The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls" is a bleak poem. The imagery of effacement implies that, once we're dead and gone, all trace of our existence is completely obliterated. Bummer.