The Bright Lights of Sarajevo
By Tony Harrison
After the hours that Sarajevans pass
Queuing with empty canisters of gas
to get the refills they wheel home in prams,
or queuing for the precious meagre grams
of bread they’re rationed to each day,
and often dodging snipers on the way,
or struggling up sometimes eleven flights
of stairs with water, then you’d think the nights
of Sarajevo would be totally devoid
of people walking streets Serb shells destroyed,
but tonight in Sarajevo that’s just not the case–
The young go walking at a strollers pace,
black shapes impossible to mark
as Muslim, Serb or Croat in such dark,
in unlit streets you can’t distinguish who
calls bread hjleb or hleb or calls it kruh,
All takes the evening air with a strollers stride,
no torches guide them, but they don’t collide
except as one of the flirtatious ploys
when a girl’s dark shape is fancied by a boy’s.
Then the tender radar of the tone of voice
shows by its signals she approves his choice.
Then mach or lighter to a cigarette
to check in her eyes if he’s made progress yet.
And I see a pair who’ve certainly progressed
beyond the tone of voice and match-lit flare test
and he’s about, I think, to take her hand
and lead her away from where they stand
on two shells scars, where, in 1992
Serb mortars massacred the breadshop queue
and blood-dunked crusts of shredded bread
lay on this pavement with the broken dead.
And at their feet in holes made by the mortar
that caused the massacre, now full of water
from the rain that’s poured down half the day,
though now even the smallest clouds have cleared away,
leaving the Sarajevo star-filled evening sky
ideally bright and clear for the bombers eye,
in those two rain-full shell-holes the boy sees
fragments of the splintered Pleiades,
sprinkled on those death-deep, death-dark wells
splashed on the pavement by Serb mortar shells.
The dark boy-shape leads dark-girl shape away
to share one coffee in a candlelit café
until the curfew, and he holds her hand
behind AID flour-sacks refilled with sand.
Summary of The Bright Lights of Sarajevo
- Popularity of “The Bright Lights of Sarajevo”: The poem “The Bright Lights of Sarajevo” by Toni Harrison, an American poet, translator, and playwright, is a beautiful poem about the latest international issue that happened in Serbia. The poem first appeared in 1995 in a British newspaper, the Guardian. It beautifully presents the situation of the residents of Sarajevo facing the worst bombardment and continuing to live their daily lives according to their routines.
- “The Bright Lights of Sarajevo” As a Representative of War and the Reality of Life: The speaker of the poem presents Sarajevan trying through the gruels of war and ensuing bombardment during the siege by the Serbs in the 90s. However, the snipers do not see the people queueing up for rations to survive the ravages of war. To the surprise of the speaker, although the survival of Sarajevan is at stake and they are going through this, life continues. The young people still come out in the evenings to enjoy leisurely strolls.
The beauty of the evening haze or darkness, the poet says, lies in its feature of making the individual identity of race or ethnicity ambiguous.
None could seem distinctly belonging to any race or ethnicity, the main reason for the fighting. Only their voices are distinct, the poet says, which is the main point in identifying boys from girls. The poet narrates the ordeal of a young couple trying to find a place to comfort each other, but the bombing takes its toll, making people flee, and rain does the rest of the job. In the midst of this, the boys and girls enjoying life show the irony of life. - Major Themes in “The Bright Lights of Sarajevo”: Life, ravages of war, and spirit of excitement and enjoyment are three major themes of this poem. Although the city faced the worst bombing following WWII and the people continued dying in the daily bombings, life continued. The boys and girls still come out in the evening and enjoy themselves with each other. They still visit cafes amid curfews. In the ravages of war, nature continues with life. Even the enjoyment and excitement are there as the people have to lead the lives they have been condemned or blessed to live. The poet shows that when the evenings come, the people start coming out in the streets though sometimes ravages of war make them. Yet life continues despite this constant threat of death.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in The Bright Lights of Sarajevo
Tony Harrison is highly skilful in using literary devices. Some of the major literary devices he has used in this poem show his skill, as shown below.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /a/ in “black shapes impossible to mark” and the sound of /o/ in “and often dodging snipers on the way.”
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession, such as the sound of /s/ in “strollers stride.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /t/ in “And at their feet in holes made by the mortar” and the sound of /s/ in “leaving the Sarajevo star-filled evening star.”
- 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;
The dark boy-shape leads dark-girl shape away
to share one coffee in a candlelit café
until the curfew, and he holds her hand
behind AID flour-sacks refilled with sand.
- 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. These verses show the latent irony in the spellings of AID when the boy and girl hold each other’s hands as;
The dark boy-shape leads dark-girl shape away
to share one coffee in a candlelit café
until the curfew, and he holds her hand
behind AID flour-sacks refilled with sand.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example, “leaving the Sarajevo star-filled evening”, “ideally bright and clear for the bombers eye” and “splashed on the pavement by Serb mortar shells.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects that are different in nature. The poet has used the metaphor of mortars for soldiers, such as “Serb mortars massacred the breadshop queue.”
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols such as radar, tone, voice, signals, and bombers to show the war ravaging a city.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in The Bright Lights of Sarajevo
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction and Tone: It means the use of language, and tone means the voice of the poet put into the verses. The poem shows the use of simple diction and a tragic and ironic tone.
- Free Verse: It means to use simple language without rhyme or metrical pattern. This poem has been written in free verse.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote the ravages of war.
leaving the Sarajevo star-filled evening sky
ideally bright and clear for the bombers eye,
in those two rain-full shell-holes the boy sees
fragments of the splintered Pleiades,