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Argumentative Essays About Poems by Szymborska

True Love Poem

Wislawa Szymborska uses anaphora and sentence structure to convey the power of true

love in her poem "True Love." Anaphora is a rhetorical device in which a word or phrase is

repeated at the beginning of successive lines or clauses. In the poem, Szymborska uses the term

"true love" at the beginning of several lines to emphasize the power of emotion. For example, the

first and fifth stanzas start with "true love": "True love. Is it normal/ is it serious, is it practical?"

This repetition creates a sense of empathy, as if Szymborska is reiterating and reinforcing the

idea of true love to the reader.

Szymborska also uses sentence structure to convey the power of true love. The poem is

written in a series of questions and statements, which helps to create a sense of uncertainty and

awe around the concept of true love. For example, in the second stanza, Szymborska writes:

"Placed on the same pedestal for no good reason,/ drawn randomly from millions but convinced/

it had to happen this way – in reward for what?/ For nothing." Here, the poet asks why true love

exists and why it happens to certain people as if it is beyond our control and understanding. This

creates a sense of mystery and wonders around true love as if it is something we cannot explain

or understand.

Hatred Poem
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In her poem "Hatred," Wislawa Szymborska uses anaphora and sentence structure to

convey the power and relentlessness of hatred. For example, in the third stanza, she begins two

consecutive lines with the word "One"—"One religion or another—/whatever gets it ready, in

position./One fatherland or another—/whatever helps it get a running start." This repetition of the

word "one" highlights the wide range of causes that could contribute to the manifestation of

hatred.

Szymborska also uses sentence structure to convey the relentlessness of hatred. For

instance, she begins the poem with "See how efficient it still is,/how it keeps itself in

shape—/our century's hatred." (lines 1-2). Here, the use of the present tense verbs—" is,"

"keeps," and "hatred"—emphasizes the notion that hatred is never-ending and ever-present. In

addition, the phrase "our century's hatred" implies this emotion is universal and timeless.

The poem's structure also serves to emphasize the relentlessness of hatred. The poem

consists of six nine-line stanzas, in which each line is a single sentence. This creates a sense of

relentless momentum as each line builds on the previous one. Furthermore, each stanza follows

the same basic structure—to illustrate the power of hatred, Szymborska first describes its traits,

then lists examples of how it manifests itself, and finally provides a vivid image of the emotion.

This structure emphasizes the relentlessness of hatred—an emotion that is always present,

powerful, and dangerous.

Over wine

In her poem "Over Wine," Wisława Szymborska employs anaphora and sentence

structure to convey a sense of fantasy and mystery. For example, in the second stanza,

Szymborska repeats the phrase "I dance, dance, dance" three times in a row, emphasizing the

protagonist's joy and enthusiasm as they "take it as their own" (1). Additionally, Szymborska's
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use of anaphora in the third stanza—" Only I'm imaginary, / make-believe beyond belief,/ so

fictitious that it hurts" emphasizes the protagonist's feeling of being unreal and thus, highlights

the dream-like quality of the poem's atmosphere.

Szymborska also employs sentence structure to create a sense of fantasy and mystery in

her poem. For example, the fourth stanza ends with a short, choppy sentence: "Only I'm

imaginary" (line 12). This sentence is then followed by two longer, more descriptive sentences,

with the last sentence—" so fictitious that it hurts," containing a metaphor that further

emphasizes the protagonist's feeling of being unreal. The fifth stanza comprises two sentences,

the first of which is a fragment, and the second contains a simile. Therefore, Szymborska's

sentence structure in this stanza gives the poem a dream-like feel, creating a sense of fantasy and

mystery.

Family Album Lyrics

Wisława Szymborska uses anaphora and sentence structure to convey the idea of

mundane and uneventful family life in her poem "Family Album." She employs anaphora when

repeating the phrase "No" in the poem's first two lines and throughout, which creates a sense of

finality, emphasizing the poem's point. Szymborska's use of anaphora also helps drive the poem

forward, as each repetition of the line reminds the reader of the main idea.

Szymborska also uses sentence structure to convey the idea of mundane and uneventful

family life. She creates long, winding sentences that create a sense of heaviness and repetition.

For example, in line 5, she writes, "No death-defying vigils, love-struck poses / over unrequited

letters strewn with tears! / Here, in conclusion, as scheduled, appears / a portly, pince-nez

neighbor bearing roses." The long sentence creates a monotony, emphasizing the family's lack of

passion and drama.

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The poem concludes with the line, "Their vanishing was due to influenza" ( line 24),

suggesting that even death is mundane and ordinary in this family. This line also emphasizes the

idea that the family is unremarkable and uneventful. Szymborska's use of anaphora and sentence

structure effectively conveys the idea of mundane and uneventful family life. By doing so, she

can create a memorable and thought-provoking poem.

On death without exaggeration Lyrics

Wisława Szymborska uses anaphora and sentence structure to create a powerful yet

melancholic tone in her poem "On Death Without Exaggeration." In this poem, Szymborska uses

anaphora to emphasize death's lack of creativity, which she conveys with the phrase "It can't."

This phrase is repeated throughout the beginning of the first and second stanzas of the poem,

used to describe death's inability to "take a joke, find a star, make a bridge" and "get the things

done that are part of its trade."

The poem also employs a unique sentence structure to create a melancholic tone. Most of

the sentences are short and choppy, reflecting death's lack of creativity. Szymborska also uses

fragments and incomplete sentences to convey her message, such as "Missed blows, and repeat

attempts!" in stanza four and "Hearts beat inside eggs. Babies' skeletons grow." 8. These

fragments draw attention to death's futility and inability to stop life from continuing.

The overall structure of the poem also creates a melancholic tone. The poem is divided

into two sections, focusing on death's lack of creativity and death's futility. This alternating

structure reflects the constant battle between life and death and reinforces the idea of death's

ineffectiveness.

Tortures
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Wislawa Szymborska uses anaphora in her poem "Tortures" to emphasize the recurring

theme of the poem, that nothing has changed. Repeating the line "Nothing has changed" in every

stanza emphasizes the immutability of pain and torture and the unchanging nature of the body's

response. The anaphora also adds a sense of continuity to the poem, as though each stanza is a

continuation of the one before.

The poem's sentence structure also serves to create a sense of continuity. The sentences in

each stanza are short and succinct, giving the poem a sense of urgency and immediacy. In

addition, the sentences in each stanza are arranged similarly, with the opening line containing the

anaphora "Nothing has changed" followed by a list of details describing the unchanging nature of

pain and torture. This structure creates a sense of repetition, as though the poem repeatedly tells a

single story.

The repetition of the anaphora and the use of similar sentence structure also emphasize

the poem's central idea: that nothing has changed regarding pain and torture. The poem ends on a

note of resignation, with the final stanza declaring that "the body is and is and is / And has

nowhere to go." Here, anaphora and sentence structure are used to emphasize the sense of

finality and the hopelessness of the situation.

Some People Like Poetry

In her poem, "Some People Like Poetry," Wislawa Szymborska employs anaphora and

sentence structure to create a memorable and meaningful poem. She begins with a simple

statement, "Some people — that means not everyone," to set up the idea that not everyone likes

poetry. This opening establishes a sense of contrast and opposition between the few who like

poetry and those who don't.

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Szymborska then utilizes anaphora to emphasize the idea of liking something. She writes,

"Like — but then, you can like chicken noodle soup,/or compliments, or the color blue,/your old

scarf,/your way,/petting the dog" stanza 2, show that we can like many different things, but that

poetry is not necessarily one of them.

The short sentences in the poem's second half further emphasize the idea of clouds being

indifferent to the lives of humans and their activities. She writes, "Let people exist if they

want,/and then die, one after another:/clouds simply don't care/what they're up to/down there."

stanza 10. By breaking the poem into concise sentences, Szymborska effectively communicates

that clouds are indifferent and uninterested in human life.

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Work Cited

“Wisława Szymborska – Family Album.” Genius, genius.com/Wisawa-szymborska-family-

album-annotated.

Szymborska, w. “Poetry Peace and War”.

www.menwhosaidno.org/poetry/PoetryWomen_torture.html.

Szymborska, w. "Some People Like Poetry." The Wisława Szymborska Foundation, 24 Apr.

2020, www.szymborska.org.pl/en/wislawa/selected-poems/some-people-like-poetry.

Szymborska, w. “True Love.” PoemHunter.com, 3 Feb. 2012,

https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/true-love-368/.

Szymborska, W.' Over Wine.' – The Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation,

https://www.brinkerhoffpoetry.org/poems/over-wine.

Szymborska, w., "Hatred.” PoemHunter.com, 14 Mar. 2015,

https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/hatred-81/.

Wisława Szymborska – On death without exaggeration. (n.d.). Genius.

https://genius.com/Wisawa-szymborska-on-death-without-exaggeration-annotated