16 pages • 32 minutes read
Natasha TretheweyTheories of Time and Space
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2006A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Tome of Memory
Memory in “Theories of Time and Space” is given symbolic significance in reference to its weight and definition. Although the speaker is clearly convinced of the truth of their assertion that “there’s no going home” (Line 2), there is also a sense within the poem that memory is powerful enough to exist outside of the constraints of time and space. Although people and places cannot help but change over time, human memory just as powerfully continues to draw people back to specific places in the hopes of finding a home or loved one somehow unchanged by time and circumstance. Near the end of the poem, Trethewey writes, “Bring only / what you must carry—tome of memory / its random blank pages” (Lines 14-16), turning memory into something that is weighted and heavy—a “tome” or large book that is impossible to lose and also impossible to ever completely fill up.
Photograph
Similar to the “tome of memory” (Line 15), still photography as an instrument used to capture a moment in “time and space” is symbolically significant within Trethewey’s “Theories of Time and Space.” The poem concludes with the image of a photograph: “someone will take your picture: / the photograph—who you were— / will be waiting when you return” (Lines 18-20). In this instance, the photograph is capturing the essence of who someone is at a particular time and in a specific place, which allows the photograph to stand against the ravages of “time and space.” Although the “you” addressed in the poem will inevitably change and therefore cease to be the exact person photographed on the dock in Gulfport, the photograph will remain as proof of what once was. The photograph becomes a powerful tool in the creation and conservation of human memory.
Gulfport, Mississippi
The town of Gulfport serves as the symbolic “home” point of the poem; the city is described in such a way that brings it to life in the past and present for the speaker and the reader. The literal purpose of the poem, as set out at the beginning of the piece, is the speaker’s travel to Gulfport: “head south on Mississippi 49, one— / by—one mile markers ticking off / another minute of your life” (Lines 5-7). The speaker’s trek to Gulfport provides a starting point thematically for the exploration of home, memory, and change over time. At first, Gulfport is described in its present configuration: “the pier at Gulfport where / riggings of shrimp boats are loose stitches / in a sky threatening rain” (Lines 9-11), but the speaker also describes its configuration in the past as well: “the man-made beach, 26 miles of sand / dumped on a mangrove swamp—buried / terrain of the past” (Lines 12-14). By providing a timeline for Gulfport’s beach, Trethewey turns the city into a symbol for the effects of time on place.
Related Titles
By Natasha Trethewey
