Get out the microscope, because we’re going through this poem line-by-line.
Lines 28-30
Or sign that they were bent
By paths coincident
On being anon twin halves of one august event,
- Those mortal eyes can't see the "signs" that might indicate what's about to happen either. Instead folks just call events like these coincidences ("coincident"), since we can't really understand how stuff like this can happen.
- But still when those opposite but equal halves meet (Titanic and Iceberg) they create one "august" (memorable) throwdown.
- Notice too that the speaker uses the word "twin" to further emphasize his opposite but equal motif.
- What's cool here too is that the speaker imagines the two as twin halves of one whole event, which allows us to imagine the collision of creative and destructive forces in a more tangible way. It's kind of like imagining a Yin and Yang symbol. We know those forces exist and when we imagine them together, they start to make more sense.
- But the question still remains, is it coincidence or the Immanent Will that drove these two paths together? The speaker doesn't answer his own question since it's kind of the mystery of life. But we encourage our super-smart Shmoopers to engage in a friendly debate on the topic. Try putting it in the context of this poem and see what kind of ideas come to mind.