"Dream Song 14"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, although John Berryman in his poem "Dream Song 14" occasionally uses exciting or interesting words and phrases, he does so only in the pursuit of higher boredom by showing that even these words can be sucked into a context, which ultimately yields a wish for death. The author points out that by structuring his poem in a modern conventional fashion, by maintaining a detached and uninterested tone throughout and by setting the work within a thoroughly decrepit and stale upper-class European environment, Berryman explores the hideous depths of a truly boring life and boring poem. The paper states that, although Berryman was an American, the poem has a certain culture sense, which recalls the post-decadent, post-World War II despair and overarching apathy seen in the works of many European writers of this period.

From the Paper:

"As far as the structure of this "Dream Song 14" goes, the crafting is both straightforward and uninvolved. The poem is comprised of three stanzas of six lines each. These stanzas vary in length and complexity, generally following a tri-line pattern in which each stanza is broken into two mini-stanzas, each beginning with two longer lines followed by a shorter third line. The seeming irregularity of the stanzas, alternating long and short phrases within the stanza and frequently practicing enjambment, are designed to give the illusion of a jagged, edgy, and exciting poem. However, the way in which this irregularity is actually formulaic and regular belies its claim to excitement, and in so doing underscores the narrator's point that life, like this poem, is indeed boring. The rhythm too seems to mimic better works, yet fails to have any greatness of its own. For a moment it seems to be defying convention with a sort of arhythmic, jazzy feel."

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