Expository essay

Poems have been used to communicate and educate societies about various issues that happen in their lives. One of the poets who has impacted on the life of people through her poems is Wislawa Szymborska. She won a Nobel Prize in 1996 for her outstanding work in poetry. This essay delineates on Wislawa Szymborska poems “End and Beginning” and “On Death, without Exaggeration” that won a Nobel Prize in 1996. Wislawa Szymborska was born in Poland but schooled in Germany and later enrolled for a degree in journalism but did not graduate. In her life, she experienced many social problems such as world wars II, communism and holocaust. Wislawa Szymborska uses her personal experience to portray the themes of sadness and death in her poems, “End and Beginning” and “On death, without exaggeration”.

In the poem “End and Beginning”, Wislawa recalls the ordeals of war and warns the future generation to shun away from it. When wars are fought, the consequences are devastating and people incur huge losses as they try to regain or reconstruct their lives, “After every war someone has to clean up” (Trzeciak 68). There are many damages and losses that happen: people lose their lives and property destroyed, “someone has to drag in a girder to prop up a wall” (Trzeciak 68). The message the author conveys aims at warning society against engaging in war. The scenes and the depiction of the events is sorrowful and this triggers emotions to the readers. Wars causes damage to bridges, railways and even houses are broken. After the war is over, the task of reconstructing this infrastructure kick start “we’ll need the bridges back” (Trzeciak 68). People cannot continue or sustain their livelihood without these things and yet they destroy them because they are in a war.

On the other hand, in the poem, “On death, without Exaggeration” Wislawa recounts the ordeals of death. Death is merciless and comes anytime. People have no choice but to reciprocate when death comes. Even if we plan for tomorrow, death comes and destroys all our plans, “In our planning for tomorrow, it has the final word” (Trzeciak 68). The author uses this metaphor to demonstrate how death has no mercy and how it comes anytime without our knowledge and without our permission. The author gives death life when she says, “it has the final word”. In reality, death cannot speak but she uses this to demonstrate the fact that death is mighty and powerful.

A metaphor is also used by Wislawa in her poem, “End and Beginning” when she writes, “someone just be stretched out blade of grass in his mouth grazing at the clouds” (Trzeciak 68). This means that many bodies of people are scattered in grass after war. The author demonstrates or illustrates how wars cause a lot of destruction. Many people are killed and dumped in fields. The use of this metaphor helps the author convey her message modestly. She conveys the message in a humane way. Human beings have some respect and modesty to life and therefore the reason for this approach.

The language that used in the two poems is concise and this helps to foster understanding. The author has not used a lot of vocabulary and jargon in presenting her message. Stanzas are short, precise and direct to the point, for instance, the use of such phrases like, “someone has to push the rubble to the side of the road” (Wislawa 24) is a simple sentence that is easy to understand.

The author also uses form in her poems. Form is the structure of the poem. In the poem “End and beginning”, the author has used very short sentences to convey her message. The stanzas are mainly made up of three, four or five lines. Every stanza used carries an idea relating to the main idea of war. Likewise, in the other poem, “On death, without exaggeration” the author uses the same approach. The stanzas are short in length and ranges between three to five verses /stanzas, There’s no life, that couldn’t be immortal, if only for a moment” (Associated Press 25).

The tone of the two poems is sadness and death. In the poem, “End and beginning” the author is vehement on how wars causes death and destruction of property. The tone and the choice of words demonstrate sorrow and sadness. For instance, the use of the phrase, “so the corpse –filled wagons can pass” creates a very somber feelings or feelings of sadness in the mind of a reader (Wislawa 24). Likewise, in the second poem,” On death, without exaggeration”, the author shows how death is merciless and how people or human beings have no choice or authority over it, “As far as you’ve come can’t be undone” (Associated Press 25). People associate death negatively and whatever things or action people engage in or do to resists it they cannot succeed to overcome it (Associated Press 25).

In conclusion, Wislawa has demonstrated her prowess in poetry through these poems. Her experiences in life form the basis of her dimensions and approaches in the poems. Wars cause havoc and death to people. The price they pay is huge, as they must work hard to rebuild all that they destroyed. The first poem, “end and beginning” is aimed at educating or warning the coming generations about the consequences of war. The second poem portrays death as something that is beyond human power/control. The author uses various styles such as metaphors and short stanzas to make the poem interesting and easy to understand. Indeed, Wislawa contributed positively to literary works. Her pieces of work have inspired many and shaped the lives of many people across the world.

Works Cited

Associated Press. Excerpts from Szymborska poetry, Houston Chronicle, (1996): p.25

Trzeciak, Joanna. “Wislawa Szymborska: the enchantment of everyday objects.” Publishers Weekly 7 Apr. 1997: 68+. Gale Power Search. Web. 25 Oct. 2012.
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Trzeciak Joanna. Wislawa Szymborska: the enchantment of everyday objects, Publishers Weekly. 244.14 (Apr. 7, 1997): 68. Print.

Wislawa, Szymborska. The End And the Beginning, 61. 6(2012): 24-24.Print.