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The End and the Beginning and Hitler’s First Photograph by Wisława Szymborska are two poems that share thematic elements concerned with time, war, and the invisibility of evil. The poems will be analyzed and contrasted with the central theme and each other. The thesis of this work suggests that both works by Szymborska illuminate the duality of time, both as reciting historical patterns with ease, such as the aftermath of war, and being completely untelling of events to come, such as the transformation of an innocent baby into a mass murderer.
The End and the Beginning by Szymborska recounts the reconstruction of affected areas after a war. The particular imagery refers to the effects of the Second World War, the pushing of rubble, the collection of corpses, and miring in sofa springs and glass. However, the poem begins with “after every war, someone has to clean up” (Szymborska, lines 1-2), which is the focal point of the poem. Wars exist within a universal timeline as outlined by Szymborska. She illuminates a process in which the war demolishes nations, the press and media become disinterested at its end, and as rebuilding begins, the nation becomes populated with individuals who knew little or nothing of the war (Szymborska, lines 1-4). Here Szymborska refers to the generations that will inhabit the heritage which they did not live (lines 39-42). Birth and innocence become a prevalent theme at the end of the poem and will be especially vital in understanding the thematic analysis of both works by the author.
The second poem, also by Szymborska, Hitler’s First Photograph, provides various imagery of Hitler as a newborn and is heavily contrasted by allusions to his future as a dictator and contributor to a genocide. The poem suggests uncertainty through statements that wonder if Hitler could have been a doctor, priest, or worked at the Opera House in Vienna (Szymborska, lines 3-7). Only his present as a child is known in the poem that creates an illusion of the past. Hitler as a newborn is referred to as a little boy with teensy hands, a little angel, and a lucky fortune. Szymborska recalls how no omen of death or signs of the future prior to his birth were visible (line 13), which supports her thesis that no person is born evil. The normalcy of Hitler’s youth is supported through images of him being alike with other children in family albums and prone to regular child-like behaviors of crying when waiting too long for the photographer to take a picture.
The works share a number of stylistic similarities, which can be assumed as they are both written by Szymborska. However, there are also stark differences, especially in the purpose of her using certain written elements such as metaphors, allusions, and imagery. Metaphors are prevalent throughout both works, with The End and the Beginning hosting rough, melancholic, and foreboding symbols while Hitler’s First Photograph provides symbolic features that are almost exclusively associated with innocence and goodness. In The End and the Beginning, the most prominent images include the reference through collapsing walls, broken windows, and missing doors. These elements are not explicitly stated but are fostered in the mind of the reader when Szymborska states that someone must prop up the walls, glaze the windows, and hang doors. Szymborska gives physical form to a mental concept of opinion by describing that “sometimes someone still unearths, rusted-out arguments and carries them to the garbage pile.” (lines 36-37). The closing images of the poem allude to the new generations, free of the experiences of the war and with a “blade of grass in his mouth, gazing at the clouds.” (Szymborska, lines 47-48).
Hitler’s First Photograph, on the other hand, is totally involved in the past. The language of the poem refers to the hypothesis of future events and questions, inquiring where will baby Hitler wander and who he will be. He is constantly referred to by affectionate names such as honeybun, sugar, and mommy’s sunshine (Szymborska, line 11). These elements work to form irony, as Hitler’s future events worked to defy all these early assumptions. Here Szymborska hints at the impossibility of tacking potential evil, as someone who once seemed like an angel had killed millions in his later life. His birth is accompanied by images of geraniums, organ music, doves seen in dreams as agents of good news, and rosy paper. Szymborska makes subtle allusions to the irony of these metaphors, by reminding the reader that “no one hears howling dogs, or fate’s footsteps” (line 31) not as a signal of unawareness of those around him, but at the unattainability of predicting evil.
While both works seem to offer conflicting metaphors and images and refer to the future and past respectively, an argument can be made that they have an identical underlying thesis. Both poems are deeply associated with the passage of time, both from the perspective of the past and present. Essentially, the passage of time is able to teach both undeniable lessons and confirm nothing with a certain probability. Szymborska almost states that the future is entirely predictable and totally unknown in the same frame. War has always proceeded in the same manner and has left patterns of the aftermath. Conflict breeds destruction and chaos, those that have survived rebuild and make room for future generations. Szymborska hints that those that do not know war have a higher propensity to begin or fall into another. As such, the cycle becomes familiar and possibly endless. Alternatively, time does not allow for the attainment of certain knowledge. Unlike war being a precursor for reconstruction, the birth of a future dictator comes with no warning. Szymborska’s poems work to ascribe this duality to the reader through imagery, symbolism, and allusions.
Works Cited
Szymborska, Wisława. “The End and the Beginning.” 2001. Poetry Foundation, n.d.
Szymborska, Wisława. “Hitler’s First Photograph.” 1995. Genius, n.d.
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