Wislawa Szymborska (1923-2012) was a Polish poet widely known for her explorations of morality, empathy and ethical considerations when writing poems. Szymborska lived through a World War and decades under communist rule, which can be seen represented through her poetic work, her poems uncover the bare honesty of human emotions/motives while still maintaining a philosophical voice.
I have explored her poem ‘Children of Our Age’ and answered the question; ‘How does Szymborska present her considerations in ‘Children of Our Age?‘
Wislawa Szymborska’s ‘Children of Our Age’ depicts the exhaustion and annoyance of the prevalent political presence in our lives. Szymborska identifies the control politics has on our lives- whether chosen or not. The repetition of the word ‘politics’ in the first stanza; ‘We are children of our age, it’s a political age.’ and as the poem progresses allows the recognition and literally exhibits this widespread occurrence. Szymborska’s utilization of lineation and figurative language provides considerations of how politics rule our lives with no escape.
The use of lineation expresses the annoyance and ironic tone of the poem. In the first stanza, the statement; ‘We are children of our age’ connotes being young; innocent and free. However, the enjambment to the next statement; ‘it’s a political age’, has a sarcastic hint that children are supposedly innocent and free yet now have to also care about politics with a more corrupt connotation. A frequent technique used is end stops in the middle of a stanza. This enables Szymborska to make statements and emphasise on it all; ‘Whatever you say reverberates, whatever you don’t say speaks for itself. So either way you’re talking politics.’ The end stop in the middle shows that there is no room for disagreement- almost monotone, ultimately creating a stronger statement as it can’t be challenged.
Szymborska applies figurative language displaying the control of politics. Szymborska uses sensory associated words to further explore the captivating capacity of politics in every aspect. The third stanza considers sound with affiliated words; ‘say’, ‘reverberates’, ‘speaks’, and ‘talking’. While in other stanzas use the sight sensory as described in; ‘even when you take to the woods’ and ‘above us shines a moon no longer purely lunar.’ This figurative language employs our senses allowing the visualisation of the extent of political control. Szymborska’s quick homage to Shakespeare’s ‘to be or not to be, that is the question.’ from Hamlet discussed to live or not to live. The metaphor encompases the feeling of being very displeased as well as even in the matter of life or death, the topic of politics is always prevalent.
The poem written in the perspective of Szymborska about the ‘children of our age’ is a timeless poetic piece that allows appreciation even when read years after it was written. Throughout the poem, the repetitive use of personal pronouns such as ‘we’ and ‘your’ creates a relationship between Szymborska and the reader as it is directly referring to someone. This can be seen in all the stanzas like; ‘Whether you like it or not’ and ‘whatever you say reverberates’ Szymborska is asking readers to evaluate their lives and the politics surrounding- to understand that she wasn’t the only one affected, other people too. The daunting undertones of her poem when realised Szymborska’s context, admits the frightening truth of what politics can lead to.
Here are my notes on Szymborska:
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