Joseph Brodsky’s "Marble," a summary Automatic translate

The play "Marble," written by Joseph Brodsky in 1982, is a metaphysical drama set in a hypothetical future stylized as classical antiquity. The work, the poet’s only play, develops key themes of Time, Space, and loneliness through a dialogue between two life-sentenced prisoners.

Act I

The events take place in the second century CE, in a chamber located in a gigantic steel tower nearly a kilometer high. The room combines features of classical architecture and a high-tech bunker: it features a bathtub, a telephone, a television screen, and a computer for ordering food, while the view from the window resembles the porthole of a spaceship. In the center of the chamber is a shaft that serves both as an elevator for food delivery and a garbage chute. The chamber’s inhabitants are two Romans: the balding thirty-year-old Publius and the more intellectual forty-year-old Tullius.

Publius amuses himself by imitating the song of a caged canary, while Tullius reads in the bathtub. A squabble ensues between the cellmates over a pastry Publius ate, though Tullius had planned to give it to the bird. It turns out the prison computer strictly regulates the menu, and dishes can only be repeated once every two hundred and forty-three years. Publius tries to order millet for the canary through Pleto, but is refused: any order is deducted from his own rations.

During the conversation, the structure of this world is revealed. Emperor Tiberius reformed the justice system, replacing the death penalty and various prison terms with life imprisonment for a fixed percentage of the population (3%). Being imprisoned in the Tower isn’t necessarily related to a crime; it’s a kind of tax or civic duty from which no one is immune. Tullius explains that the purpose of the Tower is to isolate man from Space for the sake of pure existence in Time.

The heroes discuss releasing the canary, but decide to keep it, as it will die at an altitude of a kilometer. The conversation turns to philosophical themes: Tullius asserts that a true Roman craves unity and the absence of diversity, as diversity is a sign of barbarism. Publius, on the contrary, yearns for earthly joys and women. Tullius commissions a bust of the poet Horace from Plethor, which is delivered via elevator. Then Tullius decides to get rid of an old nightstand he’s tired of. His cellmates struggle to lift the heavy object and dump it down the garbage chute. Tullius orders a new nightstand made of chromed steel. The act concludes with reflections on the nature of classic writers immortalized in marble.

Act II

The action continues after lunch. Publius listens to music on headphones, and Tullius reads a newspaper filled with news of disasters and wars that seem distant and unreal to them. Publius thinks the canary has begun singing again, but Tullius is skeptical, suggesting they order a pair for the bird. The conversation turns to the calendar: the calendar has been abolished, the days of the week have lost their meaning.

Suddenly, the walls of the chamber transform: a projection of a park with paths and statues appears. The characters stroll through the virtual garden, discussing the sculptures and the nature of reality. Tullius notices a swan and quotes lines about the double. The projection evokes melancholy in them and ruminates on the futility of reproduction and creativity. Tullius believes that history is a collection of clichés, and only poetry can capture the uniqueness of the moment.

Publius turns off the projection, tired of the artificiality. He dreams of a simple life, women, and even war, just to escape the Tower. Tullius, however, insists that the Tower is the ideal place for understanding Time, as it reduces space to a minimum. He compares man to a dead end.

A new chrome nightstand is delivered, reflecting the camera like a funhouse mirror. Tullius notes that reflection is a necessary part of existence. Publius begins to suspect Tullius is hiding something and finds a bottle of sleeping pills. A debate ensues about suicide and escape. Tullius argues that escape is impossible, as there is nowhere to escape but death. Publius, however, sees the sleeping pills as a way to at least temporarily escape reality.

Tullius decides to demonstrate his contempt for the material world and classical heritage. He begins methodically dumping busts of the great Roman poets — Catullus, Tibullus, Propertius, and Virgil — down the garbage chute. Leaving only the busts of Ovid and Horace, Tullius takes a radical step: he climbs into the chute himself and disappears into its darkness, leaving Publius bewildered and terrified.

Act III

It’s early the next morning. Publius wakes to the loud singing of a canary. He discovers that Tullius is not in his cell. Panic grips him, as he realizes his utter loneliness in the confined space. He rushes around the cell, checks the toilet, and peers into the garbage chute. The thought of being alone forever terrifies him. He calls Plethor, reporting his cellmate’s disappearance.

Suddenly, it turns out Tullius isn’t dead or gone for good. Plethor reports that Tullius called from the street, bought millet for the canary, and is returning. Publius is shocked: it turns out there is a way out of the Tower. Soon, Tullius does indeed emerge from the elevator, calm and unperturbed. He explains that his "escape" through the garbage chute was a way to earn the right to a sleeping pill, which he won in a dispute with the system or himself.

Publius demands to know how he managed to escape. Tullius describes his journey through the garbage chute, using a mattress for leverage, and his subsequent fall into the Tiber. However, he returned because, in freedom, there is nothing but the same space he despises. For him, returning to the Tower is a conscious choice in favor of Time.

A conflict erupts between the heroes. Publius feels betrayed, as Tullius has concealed from him the possibility of escape. They seize swords and begin fencing. The duel proceeds languidly, more like a ritual than a real battle. Tullius accidentally wounds Publius in the knee. The sight of blood sobers them. Tullius tries to bandage the wound, but Publius resists, desiring proof of his reality through pain and blood.

Tullius prepares for his main experiment. He calculates the dosage of sleeping pills so that he sleeps for exactly seventeen hours. His goal is to disrupt his biological rhythm and remain awake when everyone else is asleep, to find himself in a "pure" time, free from observation and external rhythms. He takes the pills, wraps himself in a gray toga, reminiscent of the color of Time, and lies down.

Publius is left alone with his sleeping companion. He is terrified by the prospect of spending seventeen hours in silence and inaction. He begs Tullius not to fall asleep, but Tullius is already drifting off. In a last attempt to fill the void, Publius moves the busts of poets closer to Tullius’s bed. Tullius, already sleepily asking for Horace and Ovid to be moved even closer. "Man is lonely… like a thought that is forgotten."