Marina: Themes

Marina is the daughter of Pericles from both classical literature and one of Shakespeare's plays. 

•The poem is about the moment a father sees his long lost daughter – hence the equivocation

-'What images return' Memories, doesn't recognise Marina, sees some similarities

-'What is this face' Daughter or speaker has changed, grown up/old, Can't quite remember - has been so long the memories are no longer clear
-'grace' Father's love - sees beauty in her/reminiscent of Christian ideas about God being a father and his grace, her presence is welcome
-'new ships' young, life moving on
-'Small laughter' like a child, present and past mingling
-'I made this' Speaker's child, Pericles guilt as it is his fault
-'half-conscious' he begins to realize
-Repition of 'what' Pericles discovers who Marina is

•The poem is about confusion
-Repetition eg 'Those who...'
-'What is this' uncertainty, unable to see/feel clearly
-'less clear and clearer' 'less strong and stronger' can't decide how to feel
-'I have forgotten and remember' Uncertainty of memory, perhaps wanting to forget, memories become blurred and unclear
-'Seas' can switch between calm and violence
-Contrasting statements about death 'dog' and a 'hummingbird', 'contentment' and 'suffer'
-Marina's voice bringing back old memories
-Confusion about who Marina is

•The poem is about a state of ecstasy
-'the hope'
-'lips parted' pure feeling, no words needed
-'woodthrush calling' hope, freedom, beauty, cutting through the confusion, Marina relating her tale
-Calming imagery in first stanza 'seas' 'shores' 'grey rocks' 'water lapping'
-All the senses - a moment of awakening
-'O my daughter' Pericles finds Marina again
-'stars' she is beautiful
-'dissolved' everything falls into place/away, he can see clearly

•The poem is about a voyager returning home
-'The garboard strake leaks, the seams need caulking' been away so long the boat is breaking
-'what shores' lost on the sea, been away so long can no longer remember
-'woodthrush calling through the fog' guiding home
-'islands towards my timbers' ship is speaker's home/self now
-'Scent of pine' nearing land

•The poem is about psychological issues
-'rigging weak and the canvas rotten' problems on the inside, no longer works/falling apart
-'half-conscious'
-'granite islands' immovable problems
-'the ecstasy of animals' unthinking/unfeeling, not burdened by soul/conscience
-Memory mixes with present
-Pericles's guilt and despair

•The poem is about the uselessness of everyday activities
-'The garboard srake leaks, the seams need caulking' mundane, repairing what has already been made
-'meaning death' futility, inescapable
-All of it nothing compared to 'my daughter'

Definitions:
'Garboard Strake'

'seams... caulking'