In this blog post I’m going to be comparing 2 of several poems that we’ve read in class over the past 2 weeks. The poems I’ve chosen to compare are Photograph from September 11 by Wislawa Szymborska and The Names by Billy Collins.

Firstly, in terms of structure the two poems are inherently different. In Photograph from September 11, Szymborska consistently writes in 3 line stanzas and is much briefer where as in The Names Collins’ stanzas vary in length and the poem itself is quite a bit longer than Photograph from September 11. Another key structural point to note is that both of these poems use enjambment to varying extents. In doing this, the poets have an effect on the tone and atmosphere of the poem. In this case I believe that it highlights the the wide extent of the tragedy of 9/11 in an abstract way.

Furthermore, although the subject matter of both poems is effectively the same, they examine slightly different elements of the September 11th tragedy. For example, Szymborska’s title of Photograph from September 11 very accurately describes the content of her poem as she’s literally describing what one might find if looking at a still image taken during the events of that day. Contrapuntally, Collins title of The Names is in reference to all of the names of the deceased that are engraved on the walls of the 9/11 memorial in New York City. Summarily, one could suggest that the most fundamental difference between the two poems is that Szymborska can be seen as writing in the moment where as Collins’ poem can be seen as a reflection. In that sense the poems can be seen to compliment one another quite nicely. Ultimately both of these poems are excellent examples of post 9/11 literature and provide two eloquently worded perspectives on the events of that day.