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Duration Study Guide & Plot Synopsis

This Study Guide consists of approximately 31 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Duration.
This section contains 1,148 words
(approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page)
Purchase our Duration Study Guide

Duration Summary & Study Guide Description

Duration Summary & Study Guide includes comprehensive information and analysis to help you understand the book. This study guide contains the following sections:

This detailed literature summary also contains Further Reading on Duration by Octavio Paz.

Duration Poem Summary

Preview of Duration Summary:

I

The epigraph that starts this poem is from the I Ching , an important text of ancient Chinese Confucianism. The I Ching , also referred to as "The Book of Changes," expresses the Taoist philosophy of yin and yang, the balance of opposites in all things. This is shown in the first two lines of "Duration," which juxtapose the darkness of the sky against the lightness of the earth.

In addition to a balance between things, line 3 presents a balance between objects and actions, as the crowing of a rooster, generally recognized as a sign that dawn is coming, is presented as a violent, tearing motion that can affect the night, dividing it into parts.

The poem's first section contains two lines, 4 and 5, that have parallel wording. In each case, Paz urges readers to rethink the reality of what is discussed. Of course,...
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This section contains 1,148 words
(approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page)
Purchase our Duration Study Guide
Copyrights
Duration from BookRags and Gale's For Students Series. ©2005-2006 Thomson Gale, a part of the Thomson Corporation. All rights reserved.
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