Brodsky's approach to poetry is very personal, and very dark. He focuses on shadowy imagery and themes throughout his works, from describing the last moments of a polar explorer, to a bitter narrative from the point of view of an ancient society being dug up by an archaeologist. His poems can be very pensive in nature, as demonstrated in "A List of Some Observation...", where he'll offer a few varied thoughts on life, humanity, and the passing of time.
His poems seem to reflect the hardships that he endured while being imprisoned by the Soviet Union. "May 24th, 1980" describes his exile from Russia and his thoughts on life and aging.
Brodsky uses a variety of structures for his poems. Typically, they have a standard rhyming structure like ABCA and similar formats. Often, his poems will be separated into stanzas, but he also has a tendency to clump his work together.
Brodsky’s poetry is full of imagery and contains figurative language throughout. His language may not be the most difficult to understand, but the structure of his poetry adds to its meaning. Brodsky leaves much to be analyzed, and his work leaves much up to interpretation. His poetry is definitely influenceced by his time in the war, even when he describes a woman in “Belfast Tune.” He says she is from a “dangerous town” and the reason she cuts her hair short is so that “less of her has to frown when someone gets hurt.” We see that the speaker in Brodsky’s poems are often tough, and the girl from “Belfast Tune” certainly is, even her disposition: “her stare stains your retina like a gray bulb when you switch hemispheres.” His poems are often dark, and contain a lot of gloomy imagery.
ReplyDeleteWhat I love most about Brodsky's poetry is the deep connection to having lived through a dark and hard time in the world's history. The bitter tone feels appropriate and isn't overbearing. His use of imagery and figurative language shocks the reader into his past suffering and quickly grabbed my attention. I have always been interested in the old Soviet Union, and because he draws from that experience, I find his poems captivating. He attempts to explain to the reader a state of mind that can never be understood unless you have experienced something similar, and his poems clearly demonstrate this and you are left with a feeling of utter shock. I really like his style and the way he doesn't try to sugar coat history.
ReplyDeleteBrodsky's poetry gives a true sense of history. As Alex said, "he doesn't try to sugar coat history". And I think that is true. Brodasky adds connections that are powerful, that only someone who has lived through them can understand. It really makes the reader interested in what he is trying to say.
ReplyDeleteBrodsky's poetry gives me a much darker feel and tone than other poet's work. Its unnerving. It also brings optimistic thoughts at living through such hard times, and the metaphorical "light at the end of the tunnel" idea. It is the marking of an extremely complex and incisive poet, understanding of the darkest ways of the world
ReplyDeleteI must agree that the darkness within his poetry is very much evident and stressed. You can tell that he really experienced some of the things he writes about, and his strife definitely captured my attention. From the poems I read, I can tell that he tells things the way they are.
ReplyDeleteI have to say that I loved reading Brodsky's poetry. His meditations, if you will, on life and humanity and whatnot are what I love about poetry: they have the ability to sum up a word of indescribable feeling in just a few lines. That's what makes poetry so beautiful, such an art form. It is similar to the way that one brush stroke can tell worlds to the viewer when combined with the whole composition.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the dark feelings my classmates experienced, though I think that they are integral to Brodsky's poetry and messaged. His feelings are genuine, and do not feel contrived at all. While depressing poetry may be over done, his truthfullness in description and imagery set his poetry apart.
Reading Brodsky's poetry makes me wonder if all his insights are derived from the same place---his survival of war. After reading a few poems, it seems to me as though he feels like he understands more about life than most people because of having seen so much horror and death. He has a sense of what is real and genuine and important versus what is superficial about life and is better left alone. His perceptions are very interesting and perhaps slightly different from the norm of society.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don't think that Brodsky's poetry particularly stood out to me versus all of the other poets that I've read. His language was understandable along with his themes, and didn't have any signature habits. I also did not like the themes that he wrote about because I found them uninteresting and unrelatable.
ReplyDeleteI loved the archeologist poem. By personifying the dig and the remains themselves adds a unique dialogue and conversation between the digger and the old remains. His references to history are captivating, since many poets focus on the here and now and personal connections, we see that history is what makes Brodsky tick. I did sense that Brodsky was matter of fact and made sure he relayed to the reader that he was not faking his emotions. It is as if he has some sort of insight that no one else has and he attempts to enlighten his readers with a new perspective
ReplyDeleteI like Brodsky's use of diction to create tone. Like many of you have said, his poems are very dark, giving his poetry a unique feel. This blunt darkness adds to his messages; it emphasizes his points. I enjoyed reading his poems because the dark tones are very different than in the poems of anyone else I've read.
ReplyDeleteI think that the dark tone that many of my classmates have mentioned contrasts in an interesting manner with the rhyme schemes that Brodsky uses. Often, when I think of rhyming poetry, my first association is with either childhood poems, or love poems, and clearly Brodsky writes neither of these things. The contrast is interesting and adds to the depth of the poetry. I agree with the other commenters that his dark personal is what led to the darkness of the poems, and I wonder what led him to use rhyme, as many modern-day poets don't.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the rhyming schemes. I also enjoye the use of imagery. I think the two of those really helped dig deeper into the themes of the poems.
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