Barbara Benjamin
April
6, 1995
ANALYSIS
OF A POEM: "Yom Kippur 1984" by
Adrienne Rich
"Yom
Kippur 1984," by Adrienne Rich, is written in
free verse with varying line lengths.
Stanza lengths also vary and there is no apparent pattern to the varying
stanza or line lengths. Rich does not
use meter or rhyme, except in a few specific places where she applies iambic
meter. Infrequently she uses alliteration
where she wants a more dramatic effect.
The poem is
about feelings of loneliness, alienation, prejudice, and hate. The narrator seeks to find answers to such
questions as, "Where do you (especially minorities) find solitude in a
society full of hate, fear, and crime?" and, "What does solitude mean
to so many of us who are already alone, many miles away from any friends or
family?" The overall feeling is of
the narrator struggling with ideas and talking to herself as she tries to grasp
and understand the nature of her own inquiries.
So, as a reader, it feels as if she talks to herself as much as she does
to you. Because of
this, there is a spontaneous quality that seems like what the narrator says,
she just then thought of and told it to you.
Because of
the disquieting feeling of the subject matter, free verse seems to be a natural
and appropriate form to use for this poem.
A formal structure, which contains some kind of uniformity and harmony
with consistent meter or rhyme, would go counter to the author's purposes here. Since the subject is about fear, hate, and
disunity, Rich's use of the free verse form with a lack of any kind of order in
the line lengths, visually gives a feeling of disorganization, discord,
disunity, and conflict.
There are
several other interesting visual effects in the poem. For instance, line 7 talks about a structure
"suspended from the cliffs."
The line itself appears to be precariously situated
on top of the much shorter one beneath it, with the word "cliffs"
suspended in the air. Then, line 16
consists of a solitary word, "once."
It seems appropriate that this word stands alone because the word itself
has a singular meaning, and because the narrator is alone. So, this solitary
word, which is among many that are above it and below it, accentuates the
aloneness the narrator must feel. It's possible, too, that this word stands by itself simply
as the result of margin restrictions of the page. However, whether Rich meant it this way or
not, it's effective nonetheless.
Rich's
opening line is visually distinctive, as well as verbally. It is a question: "What is a Jew in solitude?" Verbally, this is one of the few lines with
meter. It is perfectly
iambic. Perhaps it suggests that
harmony can only be found if you're interested enough
to search for it; and, the process begins by asking the important
questions. So,
to this purpose, the narrator's question is itself in harmony, unlike most of
the poem. Line 4 of this stanza is also
a question, similar to the opening line.
It, too, is written in iambic meter.
The visual
distinction of the first line in the first stanza is that it's
a short line, half as long as the rest of the stanza. Visually, this adds to the nature of the
question, which is about solitude. In
other words, the line itself stands alone and apart from the rest of the
stanza, echoing the aloneness contained within the question.
In line 5,
the phrases "empty street" and" empty
beach" (italics mine) uncomfortably follow the idea of fear, implied in
the previous lines. Since,
"empty" would intrinsically mean that no one is there, why would
"empty" be associated with fear?
Because "empty" is an illusion and can never be trusted,
especially by women, gay men and women, and Jews. To them, there's no
place that could be empty of something to fear. "Beach" and
"desert" are also in association with fear, which are, ironically,
images of peacefulness and beauty.
One of the
most graphic and effective parts in the poem is the fourth stanza. In this stanza, the narrator addresses
Robinson Jeffers about his hatred of the "multitude" (people). She says that "multitudes" are
fields of lupines and "torched poppies," and the rolling surf. These appealing images roll and lure the
reader (and hopefully Jeffers) smack into the point of her argument. The next images portrayed are not as
pleasant; in fact, they are quite the opposite.
Her method is to show contrast in resemblance; and that contrast is
harsh.
Contrasted
with the images of beauty and color are oppressive, dismal images of
multitudes, yet separate individuals, bent over sewing machines breathing
"denim dust;" and of a single bed that "is never empty"
because many bodies must sleep there, sleeping in shifts---assembly-line
fashion. The picture that emerges is
that these people have become part of the assembly line they are slaves to. Ironically, the
bed seems tired and is crowded not only with bodies, but with their dreams,
too. The feeling, then, is that their
dreams go no further than that overburdened, sweaty bed. These are the people that individuals like
Jeffers sees through hatred as "multitudes" and as
"blurs."
At the end
of this stanza, the narrator mentions "barbed-wire and searchlights, the
survivalist's final solution." The
"survivalist's final solution" has triple meanings. One is, of course, a direct reference to
Hitler's death camps. The second, is a reference to Jeffers' hatred of people and his
self-imposed isolation that keeps them away from him. The suggestion is that his hatred puts him
behind a sort of barbed wire and lights, although he calls it solitude. Third, is the implication that if the violent
world in which we live continues to become more and more violent, eventually
our fear will increase to a point where we begin seeking protection behind
barbed wire, isolating ourselves like Jeffers.
The relationship between the three meanings is that in each case the
reactions are the same.
The
implication of the Nazi death camp reference may not be obvious. Within this one reference are three levels of
meaning. The first is the most obvious: the isolation caused by the imprisonment of
the Jews (and others). A second level is
the isolation created when country after country turned their backs and refused
to let the fleeing Jews in or to help them.
It must be an unimaginable horror to realize there's
no where in the world you can go, and you are left only to the Nazi's final
solution.
The third
level is even more obscure, but perhaps ultimately the most tragic because many
prisoners turned their backs on each other.
In or out of the camps, the multitude of Jews were
cut off from the world. However, in the camps, living at or below the survival level
created enormous distrust of their fellow prisoners---their own people. The prisoners withdrew from one another, and
became, then, absolutely solitary in their miserable existence. At this point, they were
effectively cut off from all humanity.
At such a terrifying time, these people needed more than ever to band
together for whatever meager comfort and companionship they could offer each
other. But,
overwhelming fear caused them to isolate themselves totally from humanity. Fear begets fear. The narrator's concern, I
believe, is the world will become ever more violent, causing us to withdraw
into this bleak pit of fear like the prisoners in the death camps.
Considering
the many levels inherent in this single phrase, as well as the images and
messages contained within this single stanza, I
believe it is the most powerful section of the poem. In addition to the powerful images and messages,
this stanza also contains some of Rich's most effective alliteration. For example, "denim dust," the
"d's" explode at you like dust. And the sound of "shattering skies" shatters on
the tongue when said. Line 29 has a
string of "p's" and then "s's" which seem to push one word into the next,
emphasizing the never ending, dismal work performed by these wretched
multitudes who are just a "blur."
The sixth
stanza is more unique in form than the others because
it is visually compact with short, uniform lines. Plus, it is
rhythmical with an iambic meter. It's the only stanza with this unified visual appearance and
consistent meter, thus, underscoring her message that people should come
together. She suggests that people
should seek to be attached to communities, which she
calls "the center," because there is safety there. Outside of the communities
we become individual, separate, isolated---being on "the edges."
There is danger at the edges.
At the end,
the narrator comes full circle back to her original questions. The last stanza begins exactly the way the
first stanza begins. This helps tie the
poem together. At the end, however, the
poem is as troubled as it begins. There
is no resolution, but it continues to ask questions.
Personal
evaluation: Initially, I was drawn to the poem because of the title. The words "Yom Kippur" really
jumped out at me because I've never seen a Jewish poem
before (other than my own). Ironically,
the reason I was drawn to read this poem, I discovered, is part of the subject
matter Rich explores in the poem:
Feeling separated from the multitude, or
"your own people" (as she calls it).
Jews are only 2% of the
It was a
pleasure for me to read this poem, too, because of the intensive focus on Christianity, that I (or any non-Christian) am subjected to,
particularly in literature. As an English major, I've been forced to learn far more about
Christianity than some Christians know about their own religion. As a literature major, I know I can't avoid this, that it's part of history. But it was a breath
of fresh air for me to work on this poem because, although it speaks to anyone,
there's a special understanding if you're Jewish. I've read far better
poetry than this poem is, but in this case I wasn't reading it for quality,
rather because it felt like coming home.