In this reading log I will be focusing on a poem from week seven, March 11th. This poem is titled “On the Brooklyn Bridge I saw a Man Drop dead”, by Charles Reznikoff. Written in 1918, the poem is quiet short and it’s title a little morbid and self explanatory. To summarize, the poem begins with a stanza completely identical to the title. Then he compares the significance and importance of the man’s death to that of a sparrow. Afterwards, he mentions the setting of all this and brings up a name random female name, Diana, and a description of her. Finally, he states how he has looked for her through the woods and the waves.
While reading this poem I made my own interpretation of it. For example, in the second stance he says, “ It meant no more than if he were a sparrow”. In other words, he is trying to say that the person’s action and death was insignificant on its own. After he mentions Manhattan, and indicates that compared to the city, the man and his death cannot compare. In the thirds stanza he mentions Diana, a girl he met in a merchants place who’s beauty is compared to flowers and body to being thin, supple, and graceful. In the end, he is trying to say how he has gone through and extensive search to find, through land and sea.
This reading was very enjoyable and entertaining. I liked the language he uses, his style, and the way he makes it sound. For example, in the first stanza, through the use of his language he makes the tone of it seem normal, as if death is nothing new to the speaker. I also enjoyed how the death of an individual is made out to insignificant when compared to the greatness of Manhattan. However, I did not enjoy the third stanza. He calls Diana’s name randomly, without any previous mention in the poem. This is the part that made me confused and wonder how this “Diana” was relevant to the poem and what her relationship with the speaker was like that he went through such extents to find her.
In the end, Charles Reznikoff does a great job in expressing himself through his poem. The poem is both entertaining and puzzling for the mind. Despite its one confusing flaw of mentioning Diana, the poem is very well written and versed. The first stanza is perfect in capturing the reader’s attention and making him/her want to read more. I enjoyed this poem and would definitely read it again.
