Nothing Twice

Wisława Szymborska, a Polish poet, editor, and columnist, authored “Nothing Twice.” Szymborska is a well-known poet who was highly influenced by World War II and Stalinism. She won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1996. Her poems occupy domestic, everyday moments against layers of historical and philosophical backdrops. While her poems appear deceptively simple, they often explore deeper topics. Such is the case with “Nothing Twice.” Though it appears to be a witty poem about life’s fleetingness—with humorous images such as “the planet’s biggest dunce” (Line 6) going to summer school—it delves into more serious themes about existence and how one reconciles their ticking time on earth.

“Nothing Twice” is far from the lighthearted poem it appears to be on the surface. Szymborska uses rhythm, rhyme, repetition, and similes to lighten the verse. Her poems, while serious, are often playful, ironic, and humorous. As a Polish poet who lived through World War II, Szymborska is known for using humor and levity alongside serious themes.

Poet Biography

Wisława Szymborska (1923-2012) was born in the small town of Bnin, Poland. When she was eight years old, her family moved to Krakow where she would live the rest of her life. Szymborska developed a love of literature from an early age, studying Polish literature and society at Jagiellonian University. There, she met Czesław Miłosz, a prominent Polish American poet and writer who highly influenced her work. In 1953, Szymborska began working at Życie Literackie (Literary Life), a literary magazine in Krakow where she would work for nearly thirty years.

Szymborska wrote more than 15 books of poetry during her lifetime. While she was greatly appreciated in her country, it wasn’t until she received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1996 that she gained international recognition. Since then, many of her poems and collections have been translated into a vast number of languages, including English, Swedish, Bulgarian, Italian, Czech, Hebrew, Romanian and many others. Her books that have been translated into English include People on a Bridge (1990), View with a Grain of Sand: Selected Poems (1995), Miracle Fair: Selected Poems of Wisława Szymborska (2001), and Monologue of a Dog (2005), among others.

Fans of Szymborska’s poems admire her wit and ability to explore complicated topics in deceptively simple ways. Szymborska’s poems have been applauded for their “ironic precision [that] allows the historical and biological context to come to light in fragments of human reality” (“Wisława Szymborska.” The Poetry Foundation.). Szymborska favors simple, domestic backdrops that examine the details of the day-to-day while commenting on larger truths about history, suffering, existence, and life. While history influences many of her poems, particularly Polish history from World War II through Stalinism, Szymborska did not believe that her poetry was entirely political. Rather, Szymborska recognized her work as being about everyday people and life. “Nothing Twice,” a poem that may have undertones of war and loss, is an example of this, being largely about the passing of time.

Szymborska received several prizes and awards, including the Polish PEN Club prize, the Herder Prize, and the Goethe Prize. Her poetry has been called everything from unforgettable to witty to wise. She published primarily poetry along with one book of prose: Nonrequired Reading: Prose Pieces (2002), a compilation of short, ruminative pieces inspired by her time as a columnist and book reviewer. On February 1, 2012, Szymborska died at the age of 88.

Poem Text

Szymborska, Wisława. “Nothing Twice.” 1998. Poets.org.

Summary

Szymborska’s “Nothing Twice” (translated from Polish into English by Stanisław Barańczak and Clare Cavanagh) ponders the complexities of life, time, and one’s brief existence. The poem opens with a declarative statement: “Nothing can ever happen twice” (Line 1). The first stanza explores the arc of life, how every human arrives on earth “improvised” (Line 3) “without the chance to practice” (Line 4). The speaker argues that nothing can be rehearsed, life can only be lived.

The speaker reiterates this in Stanza 2 through the metaphor of class and summer school: “This course is only offered once” (Line 8). School refers to life—and life’s moments—as only happening once. In Stanza 3, the speaker adds to this metaphor, claiming that each day, night, and moment is unique: “No day copies yesterday” (Line 9). Life cannot be replicated exactly.

Stanza 4 begins with the phrase “One day” (Line 13), indicating a unique moment in time. The speaker introduces a “you” (Line 14). They suddenly remember someone, who is represented by the scent of “a rose” (Line 15) suddenly “flung / into the room” (Lines 15-16). Stanza 5 explores themes of passing time— “I can’t help looking at the clock” (Line 18). This stanza emphasizes the speaker’s earlier commentary on life’s fleetingness.

In the final stanzas, the speaker uses rhetorical questions, claiming that there is no need to fear time because it is natural for it to pass: “Today is always gone tomorrow” (Line 24). The poem concludes with the speaker recognizing not only the uniqueness of each day and moment, but also of each person—“we’re different (we concur) / just as two drops of water are” (Lines 27-28).