Letter of Testimony (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Octavio Paz
- First Published: 1987
- Type of Work: Lyric/Meditation
- Genres: Poetry, Lyric poetry, Meditation
- Subjects: Language or languages, Memory, Philosophy or philosophers, Love or romance, Authors or writers, Communication, Poetry or poets, Shakespeare, William, or Shakespearean plays, Night, Platonism
The Poem
“Letter of Testimony” is a long meditative poem in free verse. Divided into three parts, it is subtitled “Cantata” and concludes with a nine-line coda.
The poem begins at dusk, that uncertain moment between light and dark that can stand perfectly as a symbol for the flow of time. As day darkens, so does the page on which the poet is writing. Once again the reader is in touch with one of Octavio Paz’s favorite scenarios for his long meditative poems: the writer writing at night.
Writing supposes a curious kind of conversation that is almost...
[The entire page is 1534 words long]
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