You said you did not care for Chinese art
Because you could not tell what dynasty
A scroll or bowl came from. (...)
The speaker is reporting the words of the addressee, who apparently doesn’t appreciate Chinese Art. The reason why the addressee doesn’t like Chinese art is related to the fact that he cannot identify the period in which each work of art was produced as all artists seem to use the same traditional style. The persona uses internal rhyme (scroll and bowl) to stress the fact that the addressee considers all Chinese productions are similar.(...) ´There is no heart’
You said, ‘Where time’s avoided consciously.’
The persona uses direct speech to introduce the voice of the addressee. In his view,
