Images of Love and War
The inspiration of the poets Hardy, Eliot, Montale, and Frost gave birth to the success of the
Russian poet Joseph Brodsky. Born in 1940 in Leningrad, Brodsky dropped out of school at age )*een
and worked various jobs involving several different trades. It was at this time in his life that he began
writing poetry and also taught himself English and Polish in order to read the works of great poets. He
was arrested by Soviet authoritiess in his late teens for joining a political group and was put on trial for
“social parasism”. Once he served his eighteen months, he ended up immigrating to the United States
and was granted American cizenship. His poems fail to reflect the many political experiences and
movements in his life, but instead reveal moments of individual life and morals (McClatchy 261).
Among the many great poems by Brodsky stands one titled “Belfast Tune.” The poem is fairly short,
consisting of only four four-line stanzas. The rhyming the poet incorporated into the lines, such as “She
folds her memories like a parachute/Dropped she collects the peat/and cooks her veggies at home: they
shoot/here where they eat,” contributed to the poem’s steady 6ow the ultimately resulted in an
enjoyable and easy read (265). Brodsky’s use of literary devices also made posive contributions to the
poem. The whole poem personi)es the city of Belfast into a girl who lived in the city. The poet created
clear images within the poem by the use of similes such as “her stare stains your rena like a gray bulb/
