Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Protocols (Birkenau, Odessa; The Children Speak Alternately)" is a poem by Randall Jarrell, first published in his 1955 collection "The Woman at the Washington Zoo." The poem reflects on the experiences of children during the Holocaust, specifically in concentration camps and ghettos.

Explanation:

The poem describes the daily routines of the children in these places, as they sing and tell stories while waiting for the next atrocity to occur. The children's voices, alternating throughout the poem, serve as a haunting reminder of the innocence and humanity that was lost during this horrific period of history.

Poetic Elements:

• Form:
• "Protocols (Birkenau, Odessa; The Children Speak Alternately)" is written in free verse, with no set rhyme scheme or meter. The lack of formal structure echoes the sense of chaos and inhumanity that characterized the Holocaust.
• Imagery:
• Jarrell uses vivid and harrowing imagery throughout the poem to convey the brutality of the Holocaust. The descriptions of the concentration camps and ghettos are graphic and haunting, with images of "hunger," "beatings," and "dead bodies." These images create a sense of the inhumanity and cruelty of the Nazi regime.
• Metaphor:
• The poem employs the metaphor of "protocols" to describe the formalized, bureaucratic methods used by the Nazi regime to systematically oppress and dehumanize the victims of the Holocaust, especially children. Additionally, the metaphor of "fable" highlights the impossibility of comprehending the senseless horror of the Holocaust and coming to terms with the unimaginable trauma inflicted on its victims.
• Tone:
• The tone of the poem is somber and mournful, with a sense of anger and outrage underlying it. The speaker is deeply affected by the suffering of the children and by the brutality of the Nazi regime.

Conclusion:

Through "Protocols (Birkenau, Odessa; The Children Speak Alternately)," Jarrell provides a poignant and powerful portrayal of the atrocities of the Holocaust, particularly through the eyes and voices of the innocent children who suffered and died. The poem serves as a reminder of the importance of bearing witness to such atrocities, and of never forgetting the horrors of the past in the hope of preventing them from happening again in the future.

Poem Snippet:

"The guard punched holes in the darkness, which stirred and whined;

Something was soon going to happen; and the children in files

Sang or told stories, but each story, each song was the same

In the nightmare that waited, that might be Birkenau or Odessa."