Lost in Translation

What metaphors are used in Lost in Translation by James Merrill?

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In the poem, Lost in Translation, Merrill uses a puzzle as a metaphor for the problematic nature of gaining knowledge, something that depends on the arrangement of words and memory into a coherent pattern. He does this through the fragmented form of the poem, as it shifts back and forth in time, as well as through the poem's language, which juxtaposes contrasting images in four languages.

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Lost in Translation