Death Fgue Poem Analysis

Marginalization can stem from horrendous acts of violence, and marginalization can stem from simple two and four letter words. Regardless of where the marginalization comes from and how it is implemented, the same detrimental effects follow. “Death Fugue” by Paul Celan and “Victim Number 18” by Mahmoud Darwish vividly depict the effects this marginalization, whether because of origin or by using simple four letter words like “they.” While “Death Fugue” portrays the effects of marginalization with a rapid cadence and an eerie tone, and “Victim Number 18” portrays the effects of marginalization with a slow cadence and reminiscent tone, both poems demonstrate the detrimental effects of marginalization through the use of various segregatory pronouns.
In “Victim Number 18,” marginalization occurs with the murder and massacre of forty nine Arabs by Israeli soldiers. Marginalization occurs with the massacre because the poem argues that the massacre is carried out on the basis that these Arabs were different, which inherently makes them a threat to Israeli society. At the time of the massacre in 1956, the Israeli Border Police were ordered to treat the Arabs and the Arab villages they were monitoring as a hostile population (Lucas). By creating hostility, the Israeli government separates these Arabs as others, and allows for a cycle of marginalization and separation that began in 1948 with Israel’s founding, to continue. In order to create the division of the Israelis and the Arabs, the poet, Mahmoud Darwish, uses the words “they” ( 5-6) when referring to the Israelis in addition to “us” (7) when referring to the Arabs. By using these two different words, Darwish intentionally divides the Israelis from the Arabs and allows for further separation between the two. The use of these words also carries a connotation. When using “they” Darwish negatively separates the Israelis from the Arabs, implying that the Israelis are comfortable in a position of power and oppression which makes them incapable of coexisting. When using “us” the poet further implies that the Arabs are banded
Whether the speaker is being chased when a Nazi “looses his hounds on us” (36) or if the Nazi “shouts play death more sweetly” (25), the speaker is under unfathomable and constant duress. This treatment is a direct result of the speaker’s marginalization and mistreatment, and in order to adequately and accurately portray the speaker’s feelings, poet Paul Celan creates the terrifying tone and extremely rapid cadence in various ways. Throughout Death Fugue, Celan does not use any punctuation but simply continues writing. For example, in stanza two, the stanza ends with the four lines, “there you won’t lie too cramped / He shouts jab this earth deeper you lot there you others sing up and play / he grabs for the rod in his belt he swings it his eyes are blue / jab your spades deeper you lot there you others play on for the dancing” (16-20). As exhibited by these lines, Celan’s lack of punctuation requires the reader to continue reading without stoppage and to be out of breath. It is impossible to read this entire poem in one breath, and Celan’s lack of punctuation is used to personify and replicate the feelings of lostness and breathlessness that are direct results of the speaker’s treatment. Additionally, when Celan writes, “we drink you at midday Death is a