Poetic Repetition in Paterson

Abstract

Paterson is a poem and a film about a man and a town, both called Paterson. Jim Jarmusch’s adaptation is a contemporary tribute not only to William Carlos Williams, Paterson’s author and a prominent figure of American modernity, but to the poetry of everyday life. Focusing on the repetition and transformation of scenes and gestures of daily routine as well as of characters, this analysis traces how poetry is adapted to the media of film, slowly revealing the beauty of ordinary existence, an essential theme in the work of Williams. Besides, questions of identity in the context of tradition are also discussed examining twins, a salient example of repetition in Jarmusch’s film.