The Concept of Liberty, Authority and Resistance

The Concept of Liberty, Authority and Resistance

This essay aims to show how the selected poems represent liberty, authority, and resistance. In the poem “Refugee Blues” by Auden, there is the concept of suppression of the refugees. The refugees are seeking refuge in a foreign country, but the authorities of the nation do not want to accommodate them. In the other poem “written in pencil in a sealed railway car” by Pagis, the dominant theme of the tyranny of authority gets portrayed. Although different poets wrote the poems and at different times, they represent a central theme of power. The poems show how oppression by authority has affected the personas of the poem. Their liberty got overshadowed by, and they did not put up any resistance because they are powerless in the eyes of their respective authorities.

Both poems represent a suppression of liberty. In “Refugee Blues,” the pair of refugees have no escape. Normally, citizens of a particular nation are at liberty and have the right to dwell in their nation. In stanza two, the persona says, “Once we had a country and we thought it fair, Look in the atlas, and you’ll find it here: We cannot go there now, my dear, we cannot go there now.” The statement implies that the refugees once had a place they called home, but they cannot go back. As such, their liberty and right to live in their country got suppressed. Similarly, in “written in pencil in a sealed railway car,” Eve, the persona in the poem is torn away from her other son which implies suppression of liberty.

A closer analysis of the two poems discloses that they got written during the Holocaust. During the Holocaust, many Jews were killed in concentration camps whereas others sought refuge in other countries. “Refugee Blues” represents the portion of Jews who ran away from Germany and sought refuge in other countries. The other poem “written in pencil in a sealed railway car” represents the Jews who got moved to Nazi concentration camps, where many died of starvation, diseases or brutality from the Nazi. As such, both poems represent the tyranny of authority and suppression of liberty that was experienced in Germany during the Holocaust.

“Refugee Blues” further paints authority as repressive. In stanza four the persona says, “The consul banged the table and said, “If you’ve got no passport you’re officially dead”: But we are still alive, my dear, but we are still alive.” The stanza shows the hostility the refugees got received. Although the authority of the nation knew that the refugees were running away from a holocaust, they were not ready to host them since their passports were old and invalid. The hostility further continues in stanza five where the refugees are asked to “return next year” despite their visibly desperate situations.

Both poems showcase resistance to some extent. In “Refugee Blues,” the citizens show resistance to the refugees. In stanza six, the persona says, “Came to a public meeting; the speaker got up and said; “If we let them in, they will steal our daily bread”: He was talking of you and me, my dear, he was talking of you and me.” The public is arguing about the consequences of admitting refugees to their country. The resistance is not only from the host nation but also from the authority if the home country from which they were running away. In stanza seven the persona says, “Thought I heard the thunder rumbling in the sky; It was Hitler over Europe, saying, “They must die”: O we were in his mind, my dear, O we were in his mind.” Therefore, Hitler shows resistance towards other countries hosting refugees from Germany. However, “Written in Pencil in the Sealed Railway-Car” portrays the lack of resistance. Although not entirely clear, since knowledge of the poems depends on knowledge of history and religion, Eve and her son got transported to a Nazi concentration camp without resistance. Their lack of resistance is probably from the brutality and tyranny of authority.

Both poems have used a range of poetic elements to represent liberty, authority, and resistance. In “Refugee Blues,” the poet uses the speaker vs. listener element to bring forward the significant themes of the poem. The persona is explaining to his partner their bleak situation. How everyone has shelter apart from them, how they got rejected due to invalid passports and how the Nazi were hunting them down all because they were German Jews. The speaker vs. listener element brings forth the suppression the refugees undergo because of the tyranny of authority. Similarly, the speaker vs. listener element is used in “Written in Pencil in the Sealed Railway-Car.” The persona is talking to an unidentified person, but she does not get to deliver her message. The suspense is probably because the train left before she could complete her words.

Furthermore, both poems have used imagery to enhance their themes. In “Refugee Blues,” the poem used imagery to show how suppressed the refugees were. In stanza eight the persona says, “Saw a poodle in a jacket fastened with a pin, Saw a door opened and a cat let in: But they weren’t German Jews, my dear, but they weren’t German Jews.” The reader of the poem can create an image of a poodle in a jacket, and a cat get let inside a house but the refugees getting rejected of similar needs, shelter and clothing, just because they are German Jews.

Also, in “Written in Pencil in the Sealed Railway-Car,” the poet uses imagery to bring out the theme of the tyranny of authority. Because the poem alludes to a Biblical story, the reader can get an image of how Cain killed his brother Abel. Similarly, the poet places the Holocaust on the shoulders of human beings rather than supernatural power. The reader gets an image of people killing their fellow human beings all because of a tyrant ruler. The poet has effectively connected the first Biblical killing to the holocaust helping the reader perceive a clear image of how people killed each other because of authority.

In summation, both poems have portrayed how authority can suppress liberty and induce or reduce resistance.  Also, evident from the desolation felt in the poem, and the society should rise against tyrant leaders as well as authorities that create refugees. Furthermore, both poems call upon society to end hatred and instead look after people suffering from oppression.

References

Auden, W. H. „Refugee Blues “, Holocaust Poetry, hg. Hilda Schiff (New York 1995), 12-13.

Plank, K. A. (1993). Scripture in a Sealed Railway-Car: A Poem of Dan Pagis. Literature and Theology, 7(4), 354-364.