COMPARISON AND ANALYSIS OF "IN FLANDERS FIELD" AND "FROZEN JEWS".
“In Flanders Field” by John McCrae and “Frozen Jews” by Avrom Sutzkever are presenting in different ways the devastating effects on human beings of war. Each presents a caution to the reader against going to war. They both discuss the horrific death that is resulted from the two most major wars; World War I and World War II. John McCrae was a Canadian doctor, army officer and a poet. He wrote “In Flanders Field” in May 1915 when he was 46 years old after witnessing the death of a friend. It was first published in Punch in December of that year. The poem is written in the first-person which makes it particularly relevant to the reader. The dead soldiers pass on the baton to the next generation to continue the timeless fight for freedom. McCrae died in 1918 of pneumonia. This poem is the most famous World War I (The war to end all wars) and is often read on “Poppy Day”. "Frozen Jews" by Avrom Sutzkever, a Jew, was born in Belarus not long before McCrae wrote “In Flanders Field”. His family suffered greatly during the fascist years and this poem is written in Moscow summer of 1944. His childhood memory of fleeing his home before the district was burnt to the ground may be reflected in some of the imagery in this poem. He is one of the greatest Yiddish poets of his generation and died in 2010 at the age of 97.
Both of these war poems talk about the human cost of war. “Flanders fields” talks about fighting for a worthy cause – human freedom. The cost is high in terms of life but the baton is passed on. It is a heroic presentation of the theme which reflects the view of the time that the war was somewhat glamorous and a noble endeavour. “Frozen Jews” is in no way heroic and depicts the very real human cost. Rather than holding the Flanders’ torch high, we are faced with a glint of fish and blue carrion. Are these the people who fought in the war to end all wars?
Both poems begin with an image of beauty and nature. “In Flanders Fields the poppies blow” presents a calm and natural image of poppies swaying in the breeze. The reader is drawn in with an expectation that the beauty of the poem will continue. The next image in both cases comes as a shock. “Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place…” – the innumerable dead marked only by a cross. It then becomes clear that the writer is the dead soldiers and the poem is from their point of view. Sutzkever begins the poem with “Have you seen in fields of snow” and attracts the reader with an image of undisturbed whiteness and serenity. It draws the reader into a false sense of security and with then brings the reader up with a jolt in the next line “frozen Jews, row on row?” The juxtaposition of beauty and horror continues through Sutzkever’s whole poem with images like “Baby and mother, side by side” and “I and blue carrion, face to face.” It becomes clear that the writer in this poem is one of the “Frozen Jews”. The first five stanzas are from an outsider’s point of view and describe the scene causing the reader to sympathise. The final stanza brings the poem to a much more personal level “Marble shrouds my skin”, “I’m frozen, I’m rooted in place…” inviting the reader to empathise.
Apart from the line "In Flanders fields", the poem is written in iambic tetrameter (four iambic feet per line, taDUM taDUM taDUM taDUM),“Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky, The larks, still bravely singing, fly, Scarce heard amid the guns below”. The rhythm of taDUM taDUM taDum taDum of the words can be imagined by the reader to be like the sound of the soldiers marching to war or thought to give the poem a draggy feel. It has a regular line length and rhyme scheme of AABBA AABX AABBAX. The final line in each stanza is not a part of the rhyming scheme but is added for special emphasis. Alliteration is used to emphasise certain imagery in parts of the poem. “Flanders fields” and “Hold it high”. From the blood they shed on the battlefield, poppy seeds germinated, sprouted, and grew into beautiful red flowers that inspire and hearten the living to this day. It is ironic that poppies grow best on disturbed ground.
In contrast, the rhythm and rhyme of "Frozen Jews" is not comfortable or even. In fact at times it is discordant. Combined with the powerful imagery and heavy wording the author causes the reader to be on edge and feel uncomfortable about the subject. The reader is put into the position of an observer of the horrific and disturbing scenes they would witness in the fields of frozen Jews. The imagery of the dead Jews as less than human “glint of fish” contrast with the individuals named in the poem, the baby, the mother, the old man. The ironic statement “Nothing surprises” tells us that there are many ways to experience death. “Marble shrouds my skin” evokes the image of a tombstone which will never honour these rows of frozen Jews. The fields of snow also symbolises hiding not only of the bodies but also the Holocaust.
“In Flanders Field” by John McCrae and “Frozen Jews” by Avrom Sutzkever are presenting in different ways the devastating effects on human beings of war. Each presents a caution to the reader against going to war. They both discuss the horrific death that is resulted from the two most major wars; World War I and World War II. John McCrae was a Canadian doctor, army officer and a poet. He wrote “In Flanders Field” in May 1915 when he was 46 years old after witnessing the death of a friend. It was first published in Punch in December of that year. The poem is written in the first-person which makes it particularly relevant to the reader. The dead soldiers pass on the baton to the next generation to continue the timeless fight for freedom. McCrae died in 1918 of pneumonia. This poem is the most famous World War I (The war to end all wars) and is often read on “Poppy Day”. "Frozen Jews" by Avrom Sutzkever, a Jew, was born in Belarus not long before McCrae wrote “In Flanders Field”. His family suffered greatly during the fascist years and this poem is written in Moscow summer of 1944. His childhood memory of fleeing his home before the district was burnt to the ground may be reflected in some of the imagery in this poem. He is one of the greatest Yiddish poets of his generation and died in 2010 at the age of 97.
Both of these war poems talk about the human cost of war. “Flanders fields” talks about fighting for a worthy cause – human freedom. The cost is high in terms of life but the baton is passed on. It is a heroic presentation of the theme which reflects the view of the time that the war was somewhat glamorous and a noble endeavour. “Frozen Jews” is in no way heroic and depicts the very real human cost. Rather than holding the Flanders’ torch high, we are faced with a glint of fish and blue carrion. Are these the people who fought in the war to end all wars?
Both poems begin with an image of beauty and nature. “In Flanders Fields the poppies blow” presents a calm and natural image of poppies swaying in the breeze. The reader is drawn in with an expectation that the beauty of the poem will continue. The next image in both cases comes as a shock. “Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place…” – the innumerable dead marked only by a cross. It then becomes clear that the writer is the dead soldiers and the poem is from their point of view. Sutzkever begins the poem with “Have you seen in fields of snow” and attracts the reader with an image of undisturbed whiteness and serenity. It draws the reader into a false sense of security and with then brings the reader up with a jolt in the next line “frozen Jews, row on row?” The juxtaposition of beauty and horror continues through Sutzkever’s whole poem with images like “Baby and mother, side by side” and “I and blue carrion, face to face.” It becomes clear that the writer in this poem is one of the “Frozen Jews”. The first five stanzas are from an outsider’s point of view and describe the scene causing the reader to sympathise. The final stanza brings the poem to a much more personal level “Marble shrouds my skin”, “I’m frozen, I’m rooted in place…” inviting the reader to empathise.
Apart from the line "In Flanders fields", the poem is written in iambic tetrameter (four iambic feet per line, taDUM taDUM taDUM taDUM),“Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky, The larks, still bravely singing, fly, Scarce heard amid the guns below”. The rhythm of taDUM taDUM taDum taDum of the words can be imagined by the reader to be like the sound of the soldiers marching to war or thought to give the poem a draggy feel. It has a regular line length and rhyme scheme of AABBA AABX AABBAX. The final line in each stanza is not a part of the rhyming scheme but is added for special emphasis. Alliteration is used to emphasise certain imagery in parts of the poem. “Flanders fields” and “Hold it high”. From the blood they shed on the battlefield, poppy seeds germinated, sprouted, and grew into beautiful red flowers that inspire and hearten the living to this day. It is ironic that poppies grow best on disturbed ground.
In contrast, the rhythm and rhyme of "Frozen Jews" is not comfortable or even. In fact at times it is discordant. Combined with the powerful imagery and heavy wording the author causes the reader to be on edge and feel uncomfortable about the subject. The reader is put into the position of an observer of the horrific and disturbing scenes they would witness in the fields of frozen Jews. The imagery of the dead Jews as less than human “glint of fish” contrast with the individuals named in the poem, the baby, the mother, the old man. The ironic statement “Nothing surprises” tells us that there are many ways to experience death. “Marble shrouds my skin” evokes the image of a tombstone which will never honour these rows of frozen Jews. The fields of snow also symbolises hiding not only of the bodies but also the Holocaust.