The Theme Of Mournful Heroism In 'Casabianca'

The topic of mournful heroism is explicitly illustrated through a young child left solely on a battleship in the poem of Casabianca by Felicia Dorothea Hemans. Hemans commemorates and successfully depicts the pitiful incident that occurred on a battleship during the Battle of the Nile in the late 1970s. This incident deals with the sacrifice that is presumed to be of the son of Commander Casabianca. The poem begins with the description of the scene with the young boy in the middle of the battleship that is slowly being devoured by fire flames. He remains still as a statue only because his father ordered him to remain in his position. He called for his father three times in total in the whole poem, yet remained still, waiting for his father’s orders. It is interesting that despite all three callings, he guarded his position and accomplished filial duty. This filial duty may have led to his unavoidable fate.
In the first stanzas, Hemans begins to depict the soon-to-be tragic scene, and then gradually increases its anxiety utilizing meticulous word choice. “Yet beautiful and bright he stood, . . . A creature of heroic blood,” (ll. 5, 7). In these lines, the poet may try to emphasize the innocence of the young boy. The poet begins by introducing the young boy as a naïve child and seems to want to depict how an innocent soul can also face tragedy that is inevitable; Mother Nature does not evade children when bringing up disasters such as these. Hemans might try to refrain from