To Urania Literary Devices

The limitations and weakness of the human nature causes empty loneliness. Joseph Brodsky conveys this theme in his poem “To Urania” by using personification and metaphors. The personification that Brodsky uses shows how the people’s happiness is exchanged for sadness. The beginning of the poem states that “Everything has its limits, including sorrow” (Brodsky 1) The choice to say everything rather than a certain thing symbolizes that there is nothing that can be limited. Brodsky gives an example of the “expanse [that] grows blue like lace underwear”, describing that the expanse, or human desire, is endless, like the ocean. Additionally, writer of To Urania Themes, writes that Brodsky’s choice of metaphors “uses the metaphor of the body to express