"The Extermination of the Jews"

This poem is about the Holocaust or the ruthless time period of Jew extermination. Marvin Bell is talking specifically to Donald Justice, another American poet of Iowa City, about the aftermath that the Holocaust has had on the Jews. Expectedly, the poem has a negative connotation on the event of the mass Jew murder, and it uses diction to display that: “ defeats”, “ruin”, “weapon”, “survive”. These words just further emphasize the harshness that the Jews experienced from the Germans. The author's attitude or tone in this poem is informative and reflective upon the effects of the Holocaust on the Jews. The speaker feels as though the Jews are brave for getting through that rough time period, but he also fears that the actions of the Holocaust can come back (stanzas 1 and 4). There isn't any significant shifts in this poem. It strictly just generalizes the effects of the Holocaust on the Jews and points out the possibility of it happening again. I believe that the theme of this poem is that the Holocaust was a critical part of the Jews’ past. Yet, like any other dreadful event to have occurred in history, there is always a possibility of it happening again with the injustice and heartlessness of others.