A Part of Speech (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Joseph Brodsky
- First Published: 1977
- Type of Work: Poetic sequence
- Genres: Poetry, Didactic literature, Lyric sequence
- Subjects: Language or languages, Memory, Politics, Love or romance, Psychology or psychologists, Exile or expatriates, Alienation, Poetry or poets, Mental illness, Reading, Speech, Consciousness, Germany or German people, Hearing, Poetics, Voice, Vision
The Poem
Joseph Brodsky’s sequence comprises fifteen sections, each twelve lines in length (with the single exception of section three, which is sixteen lines). The sections are written in accordance with formal metrics and employ a variety of rhyme schemes and sound patterns to underscore the thematic concerns. Alternating between a first-person singular and a more impersonal, omniscient voice, the individual poems create a collage of perspectives around the central themes of time, exile, and alienation.
The title, “A Part of Speech,” indicates two of the...
[The entire page is 1889 words long]
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