Identity Crisis: Juxtaposition in Leningrad Josie Reynolds 11th Grade

“Leningrad,” a poem by Osip Mandelstam detailing the harsh reality in post-war Russia, examines the effect of the changes on the identity of the narrator, who is forced to consolidate his old memories of his hometown of Petersburg and the unfamiliarity of the new Leningrad following his return. This internal contrast is not only present in the theme of the poem, but also in its very structure, as Mandelstam relies on using opposition in his language to depict the internal disparity faced by the narrator. Juxtaposition is a technique at the core of Osip Mandelstam’s composition of the poem “Leningrad”, which contrasts familiarity and change to illustrate the way personal identity is relative to surrounding.

Throughout the piece, Mandelstam uses words and phrases that give a sense of nostalgia and familiarity, but follows them with harsher phrases that give negative feelings. An example of this technique can be found in the first stanza, where it reads, “These are my old tears, / my own little veins, the swollen glands of my childhood” (Mandelstam 1-2). The concepts of the past, belonging, and childhood are brought up, but placed next to words and phrases with a much more negative connotation, such as tears, veins, and swollen...