Boy breaking glass
Describe the persona in “Boy Breaking Glass.” What do we know about the persona?
- Why are some of the stanzas in quotation marks? Who is speaking in these stanzas? How is this different from the speaker of the remaining stanzas?
- What does it mean for a broken window to be “a cry of art?”
- The last stanza includes a list of things the persona does not have access to. What does this list represent?
- In contrast the lines “runs. A sloppy amalgamation./ A mistake./ A cliff./ A hymn, a snare, and an exceeding sun.” describe what the persona does have. What does this list represent?
- How does the image (attached here) alter or complicate your understanding of the poem?
