The Horseshoe Finder
by Osip Mandelstam
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At a glance:
- Author: Osip Mandelstam
- First Published: 1923
- Type of Poem: Ode
- Genres: Poetry, Lyric poetry, Ode
- Subjects: Art or artists, Forests or forestry, Ships, Sea or seafaring life, Trees, Horses, Time, Shipbuilding, Coins
The Poem
“The Horseshoe Finder” is an ode patterned, to a degree, after Pindar, as attested by its subtitle, “A Pindaric Fragment.” Its ninety-seven lines compose nine stanzas of various length. It is the longest poem written by Osip Mandelstam; it is also one of the very few poems he wrote in unrhymed free verse.
The poem opens with a choruslike description of a pine forest. The observers look at the forest primarily from a utilitarian point of view, wondering how many ships could be built from these tall trees and how the trees would fare in storms. The...
(The entire page is 1454 words.)
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