Poetry

To accompany my mermaid illustrations, I wanted to create some form of text to go alongside it to help my message stronger to the audience. I was previously considering creating a purely visual narrative like The Idea by Frans Masereel but as my theme is slightly more complicated I decided to add words.
I first set off trying to create a short story narrative and create images to illustrate this, but I struggled with this for weeks, unsure with which way to take the story. I considered collaborating with a writer, but I want to be an authorial illustrator so instead I tried writing a poem, something I feel is more manageable for my abilities. 

I started off my research with a simple google search and looking on Pinterest for quotes to do with perfection and mermaids. I looked at lesser known online poets on poemhunter.com for inspiration regarding the Mary Rose. I also looked more modern famous poets such as Sylvia Plath for writing techniques and Tudor literary figures such as Francis Bacon and Edward de Vere.

https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-mary-rose/
https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/song-of-the-seamen-the-mary-rose/
https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/on-the-raising-of-the-mary-rose/
https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/an-enchanting-mermaid-part-2/
https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/fable-of-the-mermaid-and-the-drunks/

https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/mermaid-s-tears/
This poem particularly interested me as it is about mermaid tears which I looked at as a theme in previous research. In my proposal for my project I compared mermaid tears in the original Little Mermaid and in Pirates of the Caribbean. They are strongly linked to immortality and link nicely to the watery setting and colours I want to use. 

I began drafting some possible poem ideas for my work:

My most up to date draft is: 

It is 1545, the Mary Rose is now old, 

the tale of her sinking has never been told.

Nobody knows but him, the reason she fell

A secret of a mythical woman he cannot tell …

The ocean was more than a dream for her,

No fear of depths yet a fear of shallow living.

He first spied her by Southsea castle, 

Stripping herself of opinions and 

throwing them to the rocky seas.

If only our eyes saw souls instead of bodies,

how different our ideals would be.

The ship approached with caution for her mind 

swam at depths most would drown in.

He wished for her soul, not her smile.

She didn't want the world so he gave her 

stars to match the pearls under the sea.

This way they could be together,

imperfectly. 

I plan for these words to be scattered throughout the book alongside my illustrations to give them more context instead of just being one block of text on one page. I think this might me more engaging for the audience as they can be reminded of my message as they flick through the book as well as the narrative revealing itself through the pages instead of all at once.