Babi Yar - Analysis of the Poem-

A detailed Summary of Babi Yar - Analysis of the Poem-

Yevtushenko speaks in first person throughout the poem. This

creates the tone of him being in the shoes of the Jews. As he says in

lines 63-64, "No Jewish blood is mixed in mine, but let me be a Jew .

. . " He writes the poem to evoke compassion for the Jews and make

others aware of their hardships and injustices. "Only then can I call

myself Russian." (lines 66-67). The poet writes of a future time when

the Russian people realize that the Jews are people as well accept

them as such. If you hate the Jews, he asks, why not hate me as well?

True peace and unity will only occur when they have accepted everyone,

Stanza I describes the forest of Babi Yar, a ravine on the

outskirts of Kiev. It was the site of the Nazi massacre of more than

thirty thousand Russian Jews on September 29-30, 1941. There is no

memorial to the thirty thousand, but fear pervades the area. Fear that

such a thing could occur at the hands of other humans. The poet feels

the persecution and pain and fear of the Jews who stood there in this

place of horror. Yevtushenko makes himself an Israelite slave of Egypt

and a martyr who died for the sake of his religion. In lines 7-8, he

where a Jew was persecuted solely because of his religious beliefs.

between Anne and Paul. Her love of the world and life and spring has

reader Anne's denial of what is going on around her. She tries to

The next stanza reminds us of another event in Jewish history

occur when anti-Semitism has ended. He is not a Jew, yet he equates

are Russians, too. The Nazis in effect have turned Russian against

their ability to be good hearted and moral. He speaks of "men with

these Russian people, he is trying to express, then treat me, a "real"

others. He calls to his people to reform; simultaneously urging the

recent acts of hatred. The lines also allude to the fact that these

can I forget." (line 57). His physical body feels their pain. "Limbs"

The poet refers to the "pettiness" (line 11) of anti-Semitism as the

loss in the embrace of her beloved. In line 33, Yevtushenko shows the

and fear him like they would fear an animal.

Approximate Word count = 1043
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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