Line by Line analysis of the poem “ In Warsaw” by Czselaw Milosz

“We, i.e., natives of hazy Eastern regions, perceive History as a curse and prefer to restore to
literature its autonomy, dignity, and independence from social pressure." – Czselaw Milosz

“Your history is in the way of my memory” – Agha Shahid Ali

What are you doing here, poet, on the ruins

Of St.John’s Cathedral this sunny
Day in Spring ?
In the first three line of the poem ‘In Warsaw’ the poet is asking himself what is
he doing amidst the ruins of St. John’s Cathedral on a sunny day of Spring.
After World War II all of Europe was in ruins and the traditions which held the
stability of European life also were in ruins. Poland suffered great loss as it was
annexed, invaded and divided by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union between
1939 and 1945. The Romanian, Jewish and Poles living in Poland were
exterminated by the Nazi Germany as part of the Holocaust. In fact 85% of
Poland was destroyed during the war and had to be rebuilt again after the world
War-II. Czselaw Milosz had to live though these times as an young poet and the
poem “In Warsaw’ is written in the form of an internal dialogue in which the poet
gives vent to the conflict between his desire as a poet to express the beauty of
nature who evokes joy and happiness within his readers and the reality of social
injustice, violence and oppression suffered by his people. Milosz is torn apart
between what he thinks literature ought to mirror and what historical
circumstances compel him to write about. Faith on religion also came at a crisis
during this time and Milosz was a devout Catholic. If read in this context, the
image of the ruins of St. Mark’s Cathedral symbolize the loss of faith among the
Europeans and the destruction of earlier traditions which held the society stable.
In this lines the poet is questioning the futility of his existence.
The dichotomy between the image of the ruins of St. Mark’s Cathedral and the
beautiful sunny spring day is also notable as it connotes that nature is innocent
and pure whereas humans are indifferent to its sublimity and go on causing ruin
on each other.
What are you thinking here, where the wind
Blowing from the Vistula scatters
The red dust of the rubble?
Here the poet is asking to himself what is he contemplating in the ruins of
St.John’s Cathedral whose rubble is scattered by the wind flowing from the river
Vistula.
These lines symbolize the fragmented world that emerged after World War II
where faith is in ruins and is scattered like the red rubble of the St. John’s
Cathedral is blown away by the wind that blows from the river Vistula.
You swore never to be
A ritual mourner
A ritual mourner is someone who is hired for mourning at death rituals of
notable kings , rulers ,elders or warriors. The poet reminds himself of the
promise that he swore never to dedicate his art in mourning the loss of things but
the social reality in Poland is forcing him to choose otherwise.
You swore never to touch
the deep wounds of your nation
So you would not make them holy
With accursed holiness that pursues
Descendants for many centuries

The poet is reminding himself that he swore never to express the loss and
suffering the Polish people went through in his poems . The poet did not want to
burden the Polish people of the coming generation with the woeful history of the
world war II through his poems .Note the oxymoron here “accursed holiness”
indicating that the memory of the woeful times Poland went through is accursed
but it is holy also because it describes the Polish people’s power to endure
suffering. Poetry also has the quality to make something immortal and beautiful
which are considered as holy . The poet is self-conscious of his own artistry as a
poet and he is considering the function of art to make something holy . But he is
also considering the implications of leaving behind works of art to the coming
generation which tells of genocide , holocausts , political oppression . He
understands that the history of Polish suffering will be a burden to the coming
generation i.e. “descendants” for many centuries.
“But the lament of Antigone
Searching for her brother
Is indeed beyond the power
Of endurance…”
In these lines the poet makes an allusion to the tragic character of Antigone
whose brothers Polynices and Eteocles fought against each other . Both of them
died at war but the King Creon denied proper ritual burying to Polynices as he
rebelled against the king. Antigone defied the orders of the authoritative king and
tried burying Polynices only to meet with further humiliation and pain .Here the
allusion points to the futile war the European countries fought against each other
just like the brothers Polynices and Eteocles. Polynices can be compared with
Poland . Poland was also left isolated after it was ravaged by attacks from Soviet
Union and Germany whereas Antigone symbolises the people of Poland who
kept on searching for the lost remains of her brother in the desert. The image of
Antigone searching for her brother might also symbolize the women of Europe
looking for their brothers who are killed in the war. Anyhow all these readings
suggest that the poet is saying that if he writes elegies, laments about the suffering
the Polish people went through during the aftermath of the World War II and
Nazi Holocaust who would be able to endure it.
“… And the heart
Is a stone in which is enclosed,
Like an insect the dark love
Of a most unhappy land.”
In these lines the poet says that his heart is a stone in which is hidden like an
insect the dark love of his country which suffered through war , genocide and
holocausts.
The poet says his heart is a stone which indicates that in a country ravaged with
war any expression of genuine emotion is censored. He call his love for the
country as “dark love” because he has to keep it hidden. Here the unhappy land
is a reference to Poland.
I did not want to love so.
That was not my design.
I did not want to pity so.
That was not my design.
The poet is ever present as an individual in the poem . Czselaw insists in these
lines that he never intended to love in this manner , hidden and secretive. He
never wanted to pity his country man in this way.

My pen is lighter
Than a hummingbird’s feather. This burden
Is too much for it to bear.
The poet through these lines is expressing the deep conflict within him. As a poet
he is urged by the urgency to create works of art which will give joy and happiness
to others hence he says his pen is lighter a “hummingbird’s feather”. The
metaphor of the hummingbird used here also connotes that the poet’s tool is
sensitive to the world of beauty. But the social reality of Poland is a burden on the
poet’s pen. The poet’s memory of his homeland is burdened by the Holocaust
history of Poland .
How can I live in this country
Where the foot knocks against
The unburied bones of the kin?
In these lines the poet is asking himself that how can he live in his country where
the unburied bones of his beloved ones knocks against his foot. Here the stark
imagery of the “unburied bones of the kin” knocking against the poet’s foot
evokes the picture of the killing of the Polish Jews in the street by the Nazi
soldiers. The image of the “unburied bones” further suggest that the dead bodies
of the poet’s kin was not been given proper ritual burial. Milosz’s countrymen
were killed ruthlessly by the Nazi soldiers and later by the Russian soldiers. This
imagery is a recurrence of the image of Polynices , Antigone’s brother, who was
not given proper burial . The poet is exiled from his own country and he his
burdened by the traumatic social reality of his country. This resulted in a split
within his self – the poet who has fond memories of the natural beauty of his
country and the poet haunted by the social injustice and genocide committed by
Fascists regime upon his country.
I hear voices, see smiles. I cannot
Write anything; five hands
Seize my pen and order me to write
The story of their lives and deaths.
The themes of trauma, memory and exile is weaved into Czselaw’s Milosz’s
poem ‘In Warsaw’ . In these lines the poet says that his creative flow is barred by
the haunting voices and smiles of his kin. Five hands seize his pen and order the
poet to write the story of their lives and deaths. From a reading these lines we can
understand that the poet is tortured by the traumatic and haunting memory of his
near and dear ones whom he has lost in the war under which Poland was
submerged. These memories haunt the poet to such an extent that he feels as if
five hands are seizing his pen and ordering him to write the story of their lives and
death.
Was I born to become
A ritual mourner?
I want to song of festivities.
The greenwood into which Shakespeare
Often took me. Leave
To poets a moment of happiness.
Otherwise your world will perish

The lines “ Was I born to become/ A ritual mourner?” recurs again . Milosz is
asking himself in this poem whether he was destined to mourn at the death of his
countrymen. Milosz questions fate whether all his existence must be spent to
become a “ritual mourner” who cries at the death of someone. Milosz, the poet,
rather wants to sing of festivities. His poetic self wants to exist in the realm of
Shakespeare’s greenwood. As a poet Milosz wants to exist within nature but the
social reality of his country is demanding from him to give expression to the grief
and loss of his countrymen. Milosz implores the world to “…Leave poets/ A
moment of happiness” so that the poet can create works of art which will provide
consolation to the soul of others. Milosz says that if poets are not allowed their
moments of peace which nurtures creativity then the world will perish. Poets have
the ability to provide the Readers with an escape to the world of imagination .
Poets also shed light on the fundamental of human existence and consoles people
when they are suffering angst and loss. Poets are the spiritual healers they create a
world wherein people can forget their sorrows. But in a country ravaged with war
poets can provide no consolation because all they are left to write about is death
and destruction hence, Milosz implores the world to leave poets a moment of
happiness.
It’s madness to live without joy
And to repeat to the dead
Whose part was to be gladness
Of action in thought and in the flesh, singing , feasts
Only the two salvaged words:
Truth and Justice.
In these lines Milosz states his personal tragedy as a poet and also voices the
tragedy in the lives of the Polish people. He says it is madness to live without any
hope of happiness and joy. Instead of living a life of joy Milosz has to repeat to
his unfortunate countrymen the social reality of their country which is submerged
in war and keep repeating the word : Truth and Justice. It is a futile task to keep
repeating the words “Truth and Justice to the dead people. The poet feels this
task is almost amounting to madness because, Truth and Justice are non-*existent
in a world wherein there is no empathy of life and truth is coloured in the
propaganda.