The Convergence of the Twain

I think that the imagery used in 'The Convergence of the Twain' by Thomas Hardy is very effective for the reader. For example, the way that Hardy describes the contrast between how great the boat was once and how dishevelled it is now has a very strong impact. He uses words such as 'Jewels', 'sensuous' and 'sparkles' to create a beautiful image in you head of what the ship looks like. Since these words are often used to describe either royalty or something expensive and attractive, the reader automatically thinks of the Titanic in this way.
However, he also describes the ship after it has been in the 'solitude of the sea'. This time the abjectives used are very different to the previous description I have mentioned. For instance, 'bleared', 'black', 'slimed' and 'grotesque' are all very powerful negative words. They are practically the exact opposite to positive language such as 'sparkles' and 'grace'.
I think that Hardy has used such a strong contrast so that it has a major impact on the readers and they feel sympathetic and even saddened by what has become of the ship. They may feel how shamefull it was to loose such a beautiful and gracefull ship to something like the 'sinister' and 'shadowy' ice burg. By using similar words for the rotten ship to describe the Iceberg may also help with the effect of getting the readers to feel distaste towards the Iceberg but a likeliness and fondness for the forlorn ship.