Image as a Symbol: The Symbolic Connotations of Brooklyn Bridge in the Poems of Vladimir Mayakovsky’s “Brooklyn Bridge,” Hart Crane’s “To Brooklyn Bridge” and Marianne Moore’s “Granite and Steel”

Abstract

This study expounds the symbolic significance of “Brooklyn Bridge” as a main image in the poetry of Mayakovsky, Crane and Moore. From a Marxist perspective, the Russian Futurist poet Mayakovsky believes that Brooklyn image foreshadows the ideas of class inequality in America. Moreover, it suggests the poet’s inherent belief in St. Augustine’s connotations of the city of Cain. In “To Brooklyn Bridge,” the American poet Crane proves that the image of “Brooklyn Bridge” turns to be a standpoint at which he indulges in self-meditations and a poetic experience related to religious mysticism. Through her poetic style which is described as that of “Wild decorum,” the American poet Moore believes that Brooklyn image is symbolic of the gloomy nature of a materialistic life in America. Consequently, she shares with Crane the same religious perspective stressing that the present image of Brooklyn Bridge stands for man’s original sin. Her viewpoint shows that the image of “Brooklyn Bridge” can raise philosophical views related to David Hume’s skeptical materialism. Thus, the researcher’s analysis proves that the symbolic connotations of “Brooklyn Bridge” as a main image in the three poems leads to a unified poetic experience.