Kirkup first describes the weather as “winters afternoon’s wet snow”. This gives the image of a cold, wet dreary afternoon.
The magic that the snow had given had disappeared the crisp; clean beautiful snow has turns into vile slurry of mudded brown in colour. Or the poet could be describing the weather as wet. Levi Primo describes the sky and sun as a dull winters day “crudded sun”. This sets the tone for who the poet feels through most of the poem, the weather is miserable and so are the poet’s thoughts and feelings about Hiroshima.
Hiroshima city is so ordinary “it might be anywhere”. He then begins to describe it “ramshackle, muddy, noisy, drab, a cheerful shallow permanence: peeling concrete, litter” These are the things which every city has. James Kirkup believed that Hiroshima would be different because of the tragic event. It isn’t, so the poet is annoyed that it is the same as anywhere else. The poet sees a city, which is lively and happy going around its daily business.
The river is described as being “unchanged, sad, refusing rehabilitation”. It seems that although the rest of the city has changed and forgotten the river still remembers the same as always, refusing to return to normal life. Locals can never forget the rivers symbol. The river is a symbol of death, a symbol of Hiroshima’s feelings. The river is personified “refusing rehabilitation” creating an understanding of how distraught the people were and still are. The river is “unchanged” every time a survivor of the atomic bomb walks past the river they remember the thousands who drowned trying to cool the burns on themselves. The people of Hiroshima do not need a big memorial to help them remember the death; they have the river, which is a big enough reminder in itself, it can never be removed of forgotten. To the tourist there are no great memorials, if only they new the truth the largest most prominent memorial of them all is right in front of them.
The campaign for peace has been turned into a tourist attraction “atomic peace is geared to meet the trade” I would expect the poet to be mad at this point for the capitalisation on peoples death. However Kirkup realises the way Hiroshima is presented is in fact appropriate. Why should the memorials, the city and the people be lovely and noble on such a morbid subject? “Without the nobility or loveliness” people should be allowed to live there own lives, remember in there own way. It should not be for the benefit of others.
The atomic bomb explosion centre is described as “a hideous pile”. This is another example of a building, which has no nobility.
It is described as being “freezing cold” this makes the building sound cold without a heart or soul. The temperature “freezing cold describes the tone of the peace tower, raw emotion which is distressing. The poet use inverted commas “a museum containing atomic melted slates and bricks”. Suggesting a direct quote from a notice giving a detached impersonal tone of fact.
In the penultimate stanza, Kirkup lists the objects describing them simply. They speak for themselves and don’t need further explanation or elaboration, “The ones that made me weep; the bits of burnt clothing”. Although the poet has maybe tried to list the relics like a brochure it has turned out to be very dramatic, powerful and moving.
The final two lines tell the reader to remember the relics; the relics help visitors to truly remember that event and they bare some significance compared to the monuments. The last two lines are separated from the verse to give more impact. That impact also reminds the reader of what the relics were.
I feel that at the beginning of the poem the poet had no empathy for the inhabitants of Hiroshima. In a way that he had no understanding of what they had been through, and how they would react. However at the end of the poem after a long journey with the poet, I feel that the poet and the readers have gained a small insight into the feelings of the atomic bomb city, Hiroshima.
Primo Levi wrote the poem “If this is a man”. He is a Jewish Italian writer who survived the holocaust. The holocaust was the mass murder of six million Jewish people during world war two by Nazi Germany aiming towards the ultimate extinction of the Jewish people. The Jewish suffered much prejudice and were persecuted for their beliefs and for simply being different being Jewish. “If this is a man” is structured in free verse because the poet is trying to make a point with this piece rather than something that rhymes.
‘If this is a man” opens with a command sentence demanding you to take notice “You who live safe”. It is direct “You” personally addressing the reader and those who aren’t Jewish.
He then repeats it for emphasis its as if he really wants to pin you down and not let you go. Making you feel guilty like you’ve done something wrong.
The first four lines display the images of everyday life “You who find returning in the evening, hot food and friendly faces”.
The sentence describes how we all compared to some take for granted what and whom we have around us. The soft sounds of the F’s reflect nice and gentle images.
The second section reminds you of people who are like you, but for only one reason have it all taken away from them, because of there religion their identity, they are stripped of it.
The poet urges you to question when a human ceases to be a human “consider if this is man” in the physical they are still human but everything that makes them human has been taken away from them. The man in the concentration camp is stripped of his identity, humanity and dignity “works in the mud”, “fights for a scrap of bread” and “dies because of a yes or no” This tells the reader the appalling conditions they were forced to work in, starvation and the fear over the lack of control over the future.
The woman appears quite empty “her eyes empty and her womb cold” she has been rendered infertile. The simile really has such an effect that the one thing that makes a woman a woman has been taken away from her. The simile “like a frog in winter” gives a bleak image of her alone in an evil dark place with no sense of hope.
The poet first tells the reader to think deeply “meditate”. Then entrust what he has said to you “I commend these words to you carve them in your hearts”. He is forcing you to think about what he has to say. Asking you to remember what happened to keep it in your memory, pass it on so we as a society never forget the terrible event. So that we don’t take it for granted what we have and let it happen again.
In the final three lines the poet says a curse “may illness impede you”. He says a curse wishing evil things to be fall on those who fail to remember the holocaust. He does this to threaten you into remembering something important. The reader must remember, that he has had the personal experience of the Holocaust and so the writer has the right to curse.
I think the poem takes an angry and accusatory tone because the Holocaust is a strong subject, which is very upsetting.
Both poems are about events in World War Two in which tragic events happened which shocked the world and still have a profound effect today.
“If this is a man” is written by someone who has experienced the holocaust, however he chooses not to write about his personal experiences. Maybe he’s letting us of lightly maybe its to painful to share. However in the “Hiroshima’s” poem the poet hasn’t experienced the bomb however he includes himself in the poem. In both poems a key feature is remembering the event.
“No more Hiroshima’s” tone changes from disappointment, annoyance and anger to an understanding of why the memorials are the way they are. The ending is powerful and moving. Whereas “If this is a man” has an angry accusatory tone throughout and the ending even curses everyone if they forget the holocaust. The “Hiroshima” poem maybe explains why the “If this is a man” poem doesn’t go into much detail about what actually happened and why the writer is so bitter at the end of the poem.
