Analysis and Summary of “Love Song” by Joseph Brodsky

Love Song" By Joseph Brodsky

Losip Aleksandrovich Brodsky, alias Joseph Brodsky, lived between 1940 and 1996. His place of birth was Leningrad, Russia (USSR), and he spent his last moments in the U.S.A. (Brooklyn, New York). He was a poet of Soviet-Russian-American origin. In 1987, he was awarded a Nobel Prize in Literature, and in 1991, he gained the title of Poet Laureate from the Congress Library. Brodsky wrote a poem named "Love Song" which is quite important and unique (UKEssays, 2015).

Summary and Interpretation

On the surface, this poem seems straight forward and simple. This poem mainly focuses on the position of women and men in society, submission and love. Brodsky expresses his love in passionate and adoring tones at the same time (Anti Essays, 2016). The deep, disturbing feelings are evident in the first two lines in each stanza 'If you were drowning, I'd come to the rescue, wrap you in my blanket and pour hot tea.' 'If you were a bird, I'd cut a record and listen all night long to your high-pitched trill.' 'If you were Chinese, I'd learn the languages, burn a lot of incense, wear funny clothes.' 'If you loved volcanoes, I'd be lava relentlessly erupting from my hidden source.' This indirectly expresses love, and also shows the appreciation that is evident in all aspects of life.

Looking at it closely, however, this poem is a "what if" series, where the poet's love for the young lady is shown in different occasions. It seems about lost love, or more precisely, the chances the poet lost to reach out to his lover. There is a distinct tone of finality about loss throughout the poem. In the first two lines of the third stanza, for instance, he says that if this woman were of Chinese origin, he would "learn the language, burn a lot of incense, wear funny clothes." In so doing, the poem feels that he would adjust his behaviour and culture to suit hers, be just like she is, to match her culture, due to the love he feels for her (Anti Essays, 2016).

Poetic Devices of "Love Song"

Clearly, Brodsky has expressed his love for this woman in the entire poem. The poet's imagery, symbolism and figurative language, makes the reader have a clear image of how deep his feelings are about the subject, his love. He tries to be romantic and show her that she is his equal, yet he also wishes he can rule over her. We can see this from the first to the third stanza, in the third and fourth lines, due to the poet's change in tone as he says, 'If I were a sheriff, I'd arrest you and keep you in the cell under lock and key.' If I were a sergeant, you'd be my recruit, and boy I can assure you, you'd love the drill' and 'If you were a mirror, I'd storm the Ladies, give you my red lipstick and puff your nose' (UKEssays, 2015).

The poet is overwhelmingly enamoured, to the point of being hostile and domineering. The first part of each stanza shows the poet's yearning to romance and awe her with his decent interest, while the last lines show how he intensely desires to make his/her own. He tries to make her happy and adjusts himself to be fit for her, yet he still deeply desires to control her. From the first stanza, he later claims that he would arrest a person then rescue them. He claims also, that if he would have been a sergeant, he would recruit the subject (UKEssays, 2015).

Moreover, every stanza in this poem shows that Brodsky would like to oppose her, but please her before then. Initially, his language is romantic and sweet, but it suddenly changes when he starts to use threats such as "storm," "arrest" and "keep." To top it all up, the speaker pictures himself to be a "sergeant" and a "sheriff'. This portrays Brodsky's desire to take authority and dominate her from his statements: 'If I were a sheriff, I'd arrest you and keep you in the cell under lock and key', so as to never lose her, in the third and fourth lines of stanza one. The poet emphasizes those feelings through 'If I were a sergeant, you'd be my recruit, and boy I can assure you you'd love the drill' in the third and fourth lines of stanza two (UKEssays, 2015).

Brodsky's poem is seen to have an inflection from the beginning to the end. For instance, in line one of stanza one, 'If you were drowning, I'd come to the rescue,' and in line two, 'wrap you in my blanket and pour hot tea.' In line three, 'If I were a sheriff, I'd arrest you,' and in line four, 'keep you in the cell under lock and key.' Stanza one clearly shows that lines two and four are an inflection to lines one and three, which helps complete the meaning of all the lines in the stanza (Anti Essays, 2016).

The poet uses rhyme scheme in the poem. His diction has both regular and site rhyme. The poem has an easy flow that the reader can easily follow, although it has some sections which have only half rhyme. In the lines one and two of second, third and fourth stanzas, the rhymes at the end are different; "record and recruit" "languages and Ladies" "lava and lover." In stanza one, the end words rhyme fully; "rescue and you" "tea and key." In stanza two, however, only lines two and four rhyme; "trill and drill" are perfect rhymes. The rhyme scheme in "Love Song," however, creates an interconnection of the two-line statements that look apart. All the stanzas look like they share a pattern, but the last stanza ends suddenly, with the two final lines (UKEssays, 2015).