Theories of Time and Space

Natasha Trethewey’s “Theories of Time and Space” considers, through a thorough investigation of place and memory, the nature of time and its effect on all things. The poem reflects key themes that are often present in Trethewey’s work, such as an attention to loss, memory, and history—personal and national in scope. From the outset, “Theories of Time and Space” postulates that “there’s no going home” (Line 2), while also, almost contradictorily, claiming that “who you were—will be waiting when you return” (Line 20). Trethewey’s poem makes a thematic statement in its contradictions: According to the “theories of time and space” that the speaker is beholden to, “home” (Line 2) is a place that cannot be reached because it can only exist, unchanged and whole, outside of time and space, safely ensconced in memory. Moreover, people—though also incapable of resisting the changes of time—can only return to and find their former selves by constantly carrying the “terrain of the past” and bringing “what you must carry—tome of memory” with them (Lines 14-16). According to Trethewey, memory is the only thing strong enough to establish a person or place that is not subject to the “theories of time and space.”

The poem begins by explaining clear parameters,

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