Literary Technique: Refrain
Poem Example:
Refrain
By Allen Ginsberg
The air is dark, the night is sad,
I lie sleepless and I groan.
Nobody cares when a man goes mad:
He is sorry, God is glad.
Shadow changes into bone.
Every shadow has a name;
When I think of mine I moan,
I hear rumors of such fame.
Not for pride, but only shame,
Shadow changes into bone.
When I blush I weep for joy,
And laughter drops from me like a stone:
The aging laughter of the boy
To see the ageless dead so coy.
Shadow changes into bone.
Biographical Information: One of the most respected Beat writers and acclaimed American poets of his generation, Allen Ginsberg enjoys a prominent place in post-World War II American culture. He was born in 1926 in Newark, New Jersey, and raised in nearby Paterson. The son of an English teacher and Russian expatriate, Ginsberg’s early life was marked by his mother’s psychological troubles, including a series of nervous breakdowns. In 1943, while studying at Columbia University, Ginsberg befriended William Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, and the trio later established themselves as pivotal figures in the Beat Movement. Known for their unconventional views, and frequently rambunctious behavior, Ginsberg and his friends also experimented with drugs. On one occasion, Ginsberg used his college dorm room to store stolen goods acquired by an acquaintance. Faced with prosecution, Ginsberg decided to plead insanity and subsequently spent several months in a mental institution. After graduating from Columbia, Ginsberg remained in New York City and worked various jobs. In 1954, however, he moved to San Francisco, where the Beat Movement was developing through the activities of such poets as Kenneth Rexroth and Lawrence Ferlinghetti.
Explanation of Technique: A refrain is a repeated part of a poem, particularly when it comes either at the end of a stanza or between two stanzas.The refrain in this poem is the line 'Shadow changes into bone.' It is repeated at the end of each stanza.
Interpretation of Poem: In the first stanza, the narrator lies awake on a sleepless night. He knows that no one cares for his slow descent into madness. In the second stanza, the narrator feels ashamed for his past and reputation, which he refers to as his shadow. In the last stanza, the narrator is relieved to feel laughter and coyness. The entire poem is the story of a man finally getting over his past and shadow, and becoming carefree like a child again.
Visual Representation:

Explanation of Visual: I chose the visual because it suits the second stanza of the poem where the narrator is regretful of his shadow, or past. The refrain of the poem also discusses shadows. The image is also very dark and dreary, like the mood of the first two stanzas of the poem.
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