Terezin
By Hanus Hachenburg
“That bit of filth in dirty walls,
And all around barbed wire,
And 30,000 souls who sleep
Who once will wake
And once will see
Their own blood spilled.
I was once a little child,
Three years ago.
That child who longed for other worlds.
But now I am no more a child
For I have learned to hate.
I am a grown-up person now,
I have known fear.
Bloody words and a dead day then,
That’s something different than bogie men!
But anyway, I still believe I only sleep today,
That I’ll wake up, a child again, and start to laugh and play.
I’ll go back to childhood sweet like a briar rose,
Like a bell which wakes us from a dream,
Like a mother with an ailing child
Loves him with woman’s love.
How tragic, then, is youth which lives
With enemies, with gallows ropes,
How tragic, then, for children on your lap
To say: this for the good, that for the bad.
Somewhere, far away out there, childhood sweetly sleeps,
Along that path among the trees,
There o’er that house
Which was once my pride and joy.
There my mother gave me birth into this world
So I could weep . . .
In the flame of candles by my bed, I sleep
And once perhaps I’ll understand
That I was such a little thing,
As little as this song.
These 30,000 souls who sleep
Among the trees will wake,
Open an eye
And because they see
A lot
They’ll fall asleep again. . .”
Summary of Terezin
- Popularity of “Terezin”: This heart-touching poem by Hanus Hachenburg was written in 1943 when the Jews were being persecuted by the Nazis in Serbia and its surrounding areas. The popularity of the poem lies in its association of the children with the Holocaust and the brutalities committed against the Jews in the concentration camps. The poem highlights the elimination of children along with the adults as he mourns their deaths.
- “Terezin”, As a Representative of Speaker’s Thoughts: The poem describes the lives of people placed in Nazi concentration camps built during WWII. It begins with the description of children and people trapped inside a barb-wired wall of the camp, waiting for their dreadful end. The speaker says once he was also a child, longing for the other worlds. Now, the essence of childhood is lost; he understands the horrific world around him. He wishes to go back to his childhood where he could play and laugh, ignoring the negative world around him. He draws a vivid picture of the problems and troubles he faced as an adult. He remembers the place, where he opened his eye and longed for happiness. Once again, he feels sorry for those poor souls trapped in that camp. He pities them and narrates how they welcome the new day with hope but end it in despair.
- Major Themes in “Terezin”: Memories of childhood, the bitterness of the world, and dreadful experiences of the Holocaust are the major themes of the poem. First, the speaker draws our attention to the countless people spending their lives imprisoned in the filthy walls of the concentration camp. Later, he narrates his experiences as a child and as an adult. The vivid imagery and dejected tone reveal how time has shaped his perspectives about the world. As a child, he used to have innocent thoughts about the world. Unfortunately, the ruthlessness and bitterness of the world stole the innocence of that child.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in “Terezin”
literary devices are tools to convey writers’ emotions, feelings, and ideas to the readers. They also make the poems lifelike, revealing hidden meanings, and connect the readers. Hanus Hachenburg has also used some literary devices in this poem. The analysis of some of the literary devices used in this poem is given below.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line in quick succession. For example, the sound of /I/ in “In the flame of candles by my bed, I sleep” and the sound of /o/ in “With enemies, with gallows ropes”.
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession. For example, the sound of /s/ in “Somewhere, far away out there, childhood sweetly sleeps” and the sound of /d/ in “Bloody words and a dead day then”.
- Anaphora: It refers to the repetition of a word or expression in the first part of some verses. For example, the words “like a” in the first stanza of the poem are repeated to emphasize the point.
“Like a bell which wakes us from a dream,
Like a mother with an ailing child.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; instead, it continues in the next line. For example,
“And 30,000 souls who sleep
Who once will wake
And once will see
Their own blood spilled.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example; “In the flame of candles by my bed, I sleep”, “Somewhere, far away out there, childhood sweetly sleeps” and “Like a mother with an ailing child.”
- Irony: Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words. The speaker has used this device in the middle of the poem, where he wishes to relive his childhood, knowing it will never happen.
- Simile: It is a device used to compare something with something else to make the meanings clear to the readers. For example, “I’ll go back to childhood sweet like a briar rose” and “Like a bell which wakes us from a dream/Like a mother with an ailing child.”
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings different from their literal meanings. “The dirty walls” and “barbed wire” symbolize the miserable plight of the people living in the concentration camps.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Uses in “Terezin”
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.
- 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.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are forty-one lines in this poem with no stanza break.
Quotes to be Used
The lines stated below are appropriate to explain how life spins continuously and makes us experience the bitter realities of the world.
“But now I am no more a child
For I have learned to hate.
I am a grown-up person now,
I have known fear.”