Poetry · Chapter
The New Enoch Arden explained
A satirical retelling of the Enoch Arden story, where the able seaman Enoch Arden, after being cast away on an island for years, finally returns home to find his wife Annie and his old life, only to exclaim 'Shanghaied!' in a moment of iron
What happens
A satirical retelling of the Enoch Arden story, where the able seaman Enoch Arden, after being cast away on an island for years, finally returns home to find his wife Annie and his old life, only to exclaim 'Shanghaied!' in a moment of ironic realization.
Themes in this chapter
Deception and Self-Deception
The narrator accuses the original teller of the Enoch Arden story of lying, framing the new version as a truthful account, yet the poem itself is a humorous and exaggerated parody.
Characters to notice
- Enoch Arden
The able seaman who is cast away on an island and returns home after many years.
Key passages
“Enoch Arden was an able Seaman; hear of his mishap— Not in wild mendacious fable, As ’twas told by t’other chap; For I hold it is a youthful Indiscretion to tell lies, And the writer that is truthful Has the reader that is wise.”
The narrator claims to tell the true story of Enoch Arden, unlike the previous version which was a lie, asserting that honesty in writing attracts wise readers.
Sets up the satirical tone by contrasting the narrator's claim of truth with the obviously exaggerated tale.
“Enoch Arden, able seaman, On an isle was cast away, And before he was a free man Time had touched him up with gray.”
Enoch Arden, a skilled sailor, was stranded on an island and aged significantly before he could escape.
Summarizes the core premise of the original story with a humorous twist.
“When he saw the hills and hollows And the streets he could but know, He gave utterance as follows To the sentiments below: “Blast my tarry toplights! (shiver, Too, my timbers!) but, I say, W’at a larruk to diskiver, That I’ve lost my blessed way!”
Upon recognizing his hometown, Enoch Arden exclaims in sailor slang that he has lost his way, expressing confusion and dismay.
Highlights the comedic and irreverent tone of the poem.
“All the landscape swam around him At the thought of such a lot: In a swoon his Annie found him And conveyed him to his cot.”
Overwhelmed by the situation, Enoch faints, and his wife Annie finds him and brings him to bed.
A parody of the emotional reunion in the original story.
“Enoch Arden looked about him: “Shanghaied!”—that was all he said.”
Enoch Arden surveys his surroundings and simply says 'Shanghaied!', implying he feels tricked or forced into this situation.
The punchline of the poem, subverting the expected tragic ending with a slang term for being kidnapped or coerced.