Never Shall I Forget
By Elie Wiesel
Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long
night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed.
Never shall I forget that smoke.
Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of
smoke beneath a silent blue sky.
Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever.
Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to
live.
Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams
to dust.
Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself.
Never.
Summary of Never Shall I Forget
- Popularity of “Never Shall I Forget”: The poem Never Shall I Forget was written by Elie Wiesel, a Jewish poet, writer, and activist, is a reflective poetic piece. The poem occurs in his novel, Night, a sequel of a trilogy on the Holocaust. It explores some unforgettable memories of the Holocaust that cast a negative shadow on the speaker’s life. It also explains how this dreadful incident has twitched his life and made him question the existence even of God. The insightful tone of the poem and clever use of poetic elements has made this poem famous across the globe.
- “Never Shall I Forget”, As a Representative of Sadness: This poem is about the tragedy the speaker witnesses during the Holocaust sufferings. As he begins to recall the historic day, his mind reflects on the positive transformations that occur in the world while he is stationed at a base camp. The brutal mass killing and violation of human rights snatch his joy as well as faith in God. The people’s deafening silence and dreadful screaming make him stand at the point where he longs for his death. This barbarism, which is the root cause of human suffering, appears to have escaped God’s attention.
- Major Themes in “Never Shall I Forget”: The horrific historical event, fear, and hopelessness are the significant themes spotted in the poem. Throughout the poem, the speaker explains how some harmful incidents mark the center of our life. No matter how far we go in life, those tragedies never fade away. On the contrary, if the horrors happen to cross our thoughts, it is common for one to experience goosebumps. The speaker in the poem loses all faith in God when he witnesses the horrific face of the Nazi world. It not only hits his faith but also transforms his way of thinking about himself.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in Never Shall I Forget
literary devices give a layer of meaning to simple poetic pieces. Elie Wiesel used various literary devices in the poem, whose analysis is as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /e/ in “Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever”.
- Anaphora: It refers to the repetition of a word or expression in the first part of some verses. Elie Wiesel has repeated the words “Never shall I forget” throughout the poem to emphasize the point such as,
“Never shall I forget that smoke.
Never shall I forget the little faces of the children.”
- Allusion: Allusion is a belief and an indirect reference of a person, place, thing, or idea of a historical, cultural, political, or literary significance. The poem alludes to the Holocaust, which is never mentioned by name and is only described by its nature such as,
“Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long
night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed.”
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /f/ in “my faith forever” and /l/ sound in “live as long”.
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /r/ and the sound of /t/ in “Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp” and the sound of /m/ and /z/ in “even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example, “Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example, “Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever”, “Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God” and “Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp”.
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poem shows the use of metaphor in final lines such as, “Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams.”
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poem shows the use of the symbols of pain, suffering, and brutality just to show how they cast a negative shadow on our life.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Never Shall I Forget
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: The poem shows descriptive diction having rhetoric devices, symbolism, and impressive images.
- Free Verse: Free verse is a type of poetry that does not contain patterns of rhyme or meter. This is a free-verse poem with no strict rhyme or meter.
- Repetition: There is a repetition of the words “Never shall I forget” which has created a musical quality in the poem.
- Refrain: The lines occurring repeatedly at some distance in a poem are called a refrain. The words “Never shall I forget” is, therefore, a refrain.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. This poem has sixteen lines with no stanza break in it.
Quotes to be Used
These lines from “Never Shall I Forget” are useful to use while talking about any tragic past event that caused pain, misery, and horror.
“Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams
to dust.”