loyalty never dies (Casabianca)

Casabianca has an overpowering recurring image of a son’s undying loyalty to his father. Everything from the son’s acts of insisting that he received the orders from his father before he can flee a burning ship, to the actual burning of the ship itself; projects an image of loyalty and what it can withstand. Hemans praises loyalty through her poem by creating this scene of a burning ship with a boy on it.
Hemans starts and ends the poem with the image of a ship. This ship in particular represents her views of loyalty. The ship shows such traits that one’s loyalty should have. The ship is on fire and under attack. However no matter what kind of beating foes may throw, shoot, or attack the ship with; it still manages to stay afloat. Even when all the men on the ship have died the ship still manages to stay afloat. When the complete life support of a structure have been demolished, collapsing is inevitable. However despite all that it still remains in tact, on fire, but still a float. Hemans is showing how strong loyalty should be. No matter what is thrown towards someone’s way, one’s loyalty should never become a compromise.
Hemans takes her vision of loyalty and places it within a boy. She shows his loyalty towards his dad. The boy’s dad is also captain of the ship being attacked. So in a sense the father is also the captain of the boy’s loyalty. This is all evident because when the ship is on fire and breaking down, the boy stands obediently above his father awaiting orders. When put in the situation of being on a burning ship under attack, most people would flee with out giving it a second thought. However the boy remains loyal and true to his father; to keep asking him whether or not his duties are filled. His loyalty was so strong that it ironically died in the only way loyalty should die… with the person who holds it. However it was not all completely lost because his “fragments [still] strewed the sea”. There are still shreds of loyalty left. However they are left to float throughout the sea and spread wider and wider. In a sense the ship that represents loyalty died in the same way as the boy’s loyalty. They were both good and true to the very end.