Anniversaries of War - Yehuda Amichai -Analysis of the Poem

Anniversaries of War

Yehuda Amichai

About the Poet

Yehuda Amichai is an Israeli poet who won the prestigious Irael Prize. He is considered as the poet laureate of Israel. Now and in Other Days published in 1955 was his first work. He has written children literature, short stories as well as plays. His only novel is Not of This Time Not of This Place published in 1963. It was later dramatized as a play titled Bells and Trains in 1967. Critics often refer to him as the “The Walt Whitman of Jerusalem”. Having suffered the atrocities of war first hand as a soldier Amichai became a pacisfist.

Analysis of the Poem

The poem talks about the visit that the narrator made to Tel Gath which is considered as the birth place of Goliath. Goliath was a giant who was killed by David according to the Bible. Tel refers to a site which has multiple layers of soil; each layer corresponding to a particular period in history. The narrator discusses wars which took place at the place at different points in history. Tel Gath is also famous for its winepresses (a place where wine is made). As a historical site, the narrator is aware of the fact that wars have been fought at the place even during the middle ages. Personally, the narrator has a memory associated with the war, as he too fought a war at the place. He is taking his children along with him so that they will forgive him for what he did and what he did not do. He knows that wars are not decided by powerless individuals like him. The narrator is trying to teach his children about the history of war. The narrator although he is at Tel Gath in the present, travels back in time to the period when wars were fought in the middle ages. He is reminded of a Jewish poet who fought and also wrote poems during the middle ages. His name was Shmuel Ha- Nagid. The poet identifies himself with the poet from the middle ages as he too was a soldier-poet. Although he feels that the former was a greater poet than himself. The poet talks to his children whereas Nagid talked to his heart. The mound is a place where a lot ofdeath and destruction has happened. However the poet feels that he and his children stand there as symbols of resurrection that overcame death. He knows that their life too will end. But the eternal cycle of births and deaths will continue irrespective of what men do.