The word ‘wrenched’ creates a powerful image of heartache, suggesting that the people she once knew have been taken away from her without her making the decision.
In both, ‘I will Live and Survive’ and also in ‘I will Travel through the Land’ the titles of the poems represent optimism and determination. Ratushinskaya does this by using a statement, this is demonstrated when she says, ‘I will Travel…’ and ‘I will Live…’ , in effect she is not questioning if she ‘will live’ or if she ‘will travel’ she is stating that she ‘will’. Ratushinskaya makes this statement even more clear when she uses repetition, repeating the title in the first line of both poems. This portrays her persistence making it clear to the reader that she will do what she has said. By using repetition at the start of both poems, it starts the poems off very strongly.
In the line ‘I will Travel Through the Land’ as we already know Ratushinskaya shows her determination to travel. This is a paradox, as at the time in which Ratushinskaya wrote this poem Russia was under a dictatorship, which meant that it was virtually impossible to travel anywhere in Russia. In effect showing the reader her will power to the extreme, as Ratushinskaya knew how hard it was to travel in Russia.
Ratushinskaya endured a hard time in the camp. A good example of her physical torture is shown in the poem ‘I will Live and Survive’ when she says,
‘How I had to freeze at nights,
How my hair started to turn grey…’
The use of the word ‘freeze’ shows the harshness of the cold giving the reader an insight into the agony she went through. In the second line of this extract Ratushinskaya says how her hair ‘started to turn grey’. This is a good example of the stress and physical conditions she suffered. It contrasts with the image that when you grow old hair often turns grey, as Ratushinskaya was very young when she was in the camp. Which is extremely unusual for hair to turn grey when still young, unless you are subjected to stressful conditions. In effect showing the true extent of her torture.
When Irina Ratushinskaya writes these two lines it is clear to see that she is writing in the past tense, as if she had already left the labour camp. From our research we have discovered she was still there when writing the poem, this suggests that she had lots of will power and courage and believed that she would survive the camp and some day leave to tell her side of the story.
Irina Ratushinskaya also demonstrates her will to tell her side of her experience, in the poem ‘I will Live and Survive’ when she writes, ‘And I’ll be asked: what helped us to live’. Ratushinskaya uses a Rhetorical question to allow her to think about what she is going to say when she leaves the camp. It also suggests that Ratushinskaya understands that people will be fascinated by the situation and will be amazed at how she survived. On the other hand Irina Ratushinskaya shows how she is questioning if she will survive the regime and also questioning what is going to help her live whilst in the camp. It shows doubt in her mind although it suggests she is trying to think positive.
Although Ratushinskaya often displays her suffering in a physical way though this is seen mostly in the poem ‘I will Live and Survive’. She also portrays her distress in an emotional way, which can be seen in the poem ‘I will Travel through the Land’. She writes,
‘I will study the eyes of human suffering,
I will see what no one has seen-‘
One interpretation might be that Ratushinskaya is able to recognise the human suffering, as she herself has had to suffer in the prison camp. She says she will see ‘what no one else has seen’ this could suggest that only somebody who has experienced the suffering can truly know. This shows the reader that Ratushinskaya’s experience and distress is like none we’ve seen before. At the same time she uses the word ‘eyes’, there are lots of connotations with this word. A popular phase is ‘the eyes are the windows to the soul’. This suggests that the eyes are a very important part of the body to Ratushinskaya and that she will look for people’s suffering within their eyes, as the eyes are also said to hold the truth.
Ratushinskaya missed her loved ones terribly whilst in the labour camp, as this was inevitable. However the camp tried hard to make prisoners forget about the love they had back at home. This is shown in the poem ‘I will Travel through the Land’ when she writes,
‘How we write to them: ‘Never mind,
You and I are one the same,
Can’t be taken apart!’
This shows her mental and emotional abuse she had to go through in the camp. It proves that the labour camp was trying to take away the love she holds for her family. Her determination is shown here when she makes a statement saying how they ‘cant be taken apart’. This demonstrates to the readers how she is very committed and holds great perseverance. The readers can also relate to her suffering as they can imagine the heartache involved when away from an important and loved member of their family. By using the word ‘forged‘ in the next line ‘And, forged in land,’ Ratushinskaya tries to explain to the reader that the love she has is unbreakable and the regime isn’t going to break that.
Similarly, in the poem ‘I will Live and Survive’ it is apparent that Irina Ratushinskaya had great endurance. This is shown when she says, ‘But I’ll smile. And crack some joke’. This demonstrates how she was not prepared to let the torture within the camp destroy her character. Although this gives the impression that she is trying to convince people and herself that she is not affected by the strict regime. The use of a caesura in this line adds a pause in thought giving the short sentence a dramatic effect. The continuation in thought is shown when the word ‘And’ is used to start the next sentence, in effect giving the reader an additional thought.
Whilst in captivity Irina Ratushinskaya was treated in a shocking and in-humane way, this was mainly due to the strict regime and the leaders in the camp. In both poems Ratushinskaya displays a disliking of the officers a good example of this is shown in the poem ‘I will Live and Survive’ when she writes,
‘But the former names will detonate in my memory in my memory-
Magnificent as old cannon.’
The use of the word ‘detonate’ and ‘cannon’ create an image of war. They also suggest that the she is trying to forget the names, but she can’t, as they will always haunt her at the back of her mind, ready to be violently remembered.
Nevertheless, Ratushinskaya did have friends inside the prison and these friendships helped her to keep strong and determined. This can be seen in the poem ‘I will Live and Survive’ when she says, ‘And I will tell of the best people in all the earth’ This tells us of the people who stood by her in the camp. It shows us how she felt towards them as she talks of them being ‘the best people in all the earth’ this creates an image of strong friendship and could be one of the reasons why she survived the strict regime.
Irina Ratushinskaya kept herself alive in the labour camp by remembering an image that she had seen, in a frost covered window. This is shown in the poem ‘I will Live and Survive’ when she writes,
‘And I will tell of the first beauty
I saw in captivity.
A frost covered window! …’
The use of the words ‘first beauty’ gives the reader an idea into how severe Ratushinskaya’s suffering actually was. This line uses enjambment to make a strong point and to also build up tension. The fact that the line ‘A frost covered window!’ has an exclamation at the end shows her emotion and excitement, it suggests to the reader that her ordeal was so appalling that something so small can make her so happy.
Ratushinskaya sees the frost covered window as a gift. We can see this when she finishes her poem with these lines,
‘Such a gift can only be received once,
And perhaps is only needed once.’
One interpretation might be that Irina Ratushinskaya thinks of the frost on the window as her first special moment in the camp, which she will never forget. It also suggests to the readers how it allowed her a bit of freedom, as nobody could take the image away from her. The line in which it says, ‘…is only needed once,’ shows us that she only needed to see the window once to keep her going, as the beauty of the window will stay strong in her mind, just as much as she was to remain determined.
Overall, Irina Ratushinskaya depicts her suffering in the hard labour camp very sincerely. She uses both physical conditions and emotional heartache to display to the reader the true extent of her suffering. Ratushinskaya uses different subjects such as family and friendships to show her determination and the strong perseverance, which she holds. Although the two poems are different they both use descriptive verbs and show how Ratushinskaya tried to convince herself that the prison did not affect her. However in certain places in her poetry it can be seen that she is missing her family and that she is being haunted by old memories she doesn’t want to get caught up in. She uses poetic devices such as caesura, enjambment and a semantic field of war to demonstrate her emotions, without actually telling the reader how she is feeling. Irina Ratushinskaya can be quite informative about her ordeal, giving the reader detailed events, in which she went through. In conclusion Ratushinskaya’s suffering is depicted in both poems in an effective way, allowing the reader to relate to what she is going through.
