Note Concerning My Detention: Marquis de Sade

[ErotiKa]

‘Note Concerning My Detention,’ De Sade, pp. 151 ff.,

The opening lines of ‘Note Concerning My Detention’ reveal the complex nature of De Sade’s literary genius. We already know, from the title, that this is the author speaking. It is his voice we hear speaking to us on the topic of his detention.
The title reveals that, what we are about to read, will be relatively brief ‘note’ and although it will be brief it will provide complex examples of literary devices such as, enjambment, point of view and theme. The opening lines in paragraph one show that De Sade is the central character whose observations the reader will rely upon to gain firsthand knowledge from the writers experience, within the setting where-in he is detained, which will be revealed, to the reader as the story unfolds.

[Sitaram]

http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Terms/enjambment.html

Enjambment

When the units of sense in a passage of poetry don't coincide with the verses, and the sense runs on from one verse to another, the lines are said to be enjambed. When the verse length matches the length of the units of sense (clauses, sentences, whatever), the lines are said to be end-stopped. The term comes from the French for "straddling," since sentences "straddle" several lines. For examples, see the entry for end-stopped.

[ErotiKa]

Hi Sitaram! Great to see you are learning new words esp. 'enjambment' (commonly known as 'run-ons lines'). A recent example of enjambment is a poem that doubles up as both 'ceasura' and 'enjambment':

Ceasura
The pause like an epistemic break
Running on from line to line
Regulating rhythm like tension
On a tightrope moving feet
Metre by metre end to end
Scansion measured manipulating
Loops ending beginning merge
Meaning endlessly re-appearing
In gradual revelation the final point
Of illumination to feast upon the table
Of ink in undertones groaning
In overtones like a scored musical
In the margins edge moving feet
Running on from line to line
On a tightrope moving feet
The pause like an epistemic break
Regulating the pace the beat.

Cheers
ErotiKa