Literature - G.C. E. (O/L) Poems on Conflict -The Terrorist, He’s Watching



The Terrorist, He’s Watching

By

Wislawa Szymborska







Wislawa was a Polish poet, essayist, translator and recipient of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Literature. She was born in Prowent which is now part of Komuk. She later resided in Krakov.

 

Look at the word,

The terrorist





What do you feel when you hear the word terrorist?

 What are the words that come to your mind can you make a list of those words.

Are you familiar with the words terrorist and terrorism?

What do you know?

Do you know or have you heard about any terrorist attacks in our country?

 Do you know how people were devastated by those attacks?

 

Who is a terrorist?

A person who uses unlawful violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.

 


 In this poem  we see a terrorist watching after planning a deliberate assault by setting a bomb and watching being at a safe distance to see the destruction which might occur in few seconds.


 He is waiting to see the consequence which would necessarily be destructive and bring pain and suffering to ordinary innocent civilians.


Sri Lanka too underwent this kind of situation for over thirty years. Deliberately planned violence and assassinations were common in Sri Lanka and continues unabated in many societies. The poet captures the moment of assassination and destruction creating a much tensed atmosphere very effectively.

 

Let’s watch the poem

     


Let’s read the poem for understanding

    The Terrorist, He’s Watching


    The bomb in the bar will explode at thirteen twenty.

    Now it’s just thirteen sixteen.

    There’s still time for some to go in,

    And some to come out.

 

    The terrorist has already crossed the street.

    That distance keeps him out of danger,

    and what a view- just like the movies:

 

    A woman in a yellow jacket, she’s going in.

    A man in dark glasses, he’s coming out.

    Teenagers in jeans, they’re talking.

    Thirteen seventeen and four seconds.

    The short one, he’s lucky, he’s getting on a scooter,

    but the tall one, he’s going in.

 

    Thirteen seventeen and forty seconds.

    That girl, she’s walking along with a green ribbon in her hair.

    But then a bus suddenly pulls in front of her.

 

    Thirteen eighteen.

    The girl’s gone.

    Was she that dumb, did she go in or not,

    we’ll see when they carry them out.

 

    Thirteen nineteen.

    Somehow no one’s going in.

    Another guy, fat, bald, is leaving, though.

    Wait a second, looks like he’s looking for something in his

     pockets and

    at thirteen twenty minus ten seconds

    he goes back in for his crummy gloves.

 

    Thirteen twenty exactly.

    This waiting, it’s taking forever.

    Any second now.

    No, not yet.

    Yes, now.

    The bomb, it explodes.

 

The first stanza gives the setting. The bomb is set in a bar.

  • Can you think why a place like a bar would be selected for such a purpose? What is the intention of this terrorist?
  • Is it the same as that of all terrorists?
  • Does the stanza give you a clue as to what device is used?
  • Which phrases/ lines provide you with the clue?
  • At what time would the bomb explode?
  • What time is it now (as you read the first stanza)?
  •  The time is emphasized in this stanza (thirteen twenty, thirteen sixteen). Why is digital time used? 

Read the second stanza a picture of the terrorist is given.

  • What does he do after setting up the explosive device?
  • Why has he crossed the street?
  • Why doesn’t he leave the place of the blast?
  • Is this behavior usual with terrorists?
  •  

Read the next four stanzas which brings out the situation through the eyes of the narrator

  • The narrator who sees or observes the actions of the terrorist as well as the people. Both the terrorist and the narrator see a lot of movement of people- men, women, girls and boys.
  • How does the narrator see each of them? (With grief, fear or mechanically)
  • Does the terrorist have even a twinge of conscience about the people who are going to get killed?
  • Does the narrator have pity?

Read the following lines

“the short one, he’s lucky, he’s going on a  scooter”

“The girl, she’s walking along with a green ribbon in her hair

Was she that dumb, did she go in or not”

 

  • How do you interpret the above lines?
  • Do you think they show any kind of ‘softness’ on the part of the terrorist?
  • Whose point of view do you find here? The terrorist’s or the narrator’s?

The terrorist seems to be looking at his watch all the time.

  • Why does he do that?

The narrator is also conscious of time.

  • How much time has passed from the time the bomb was set up to the time the girl in the green ribbon passes the bar?

 

The narrator seems to read time mechanically too on his watch.

e.g. “thirteen twenty minus ten seconds.

 

What is the effect?”

  • How much time does the bald-headed man have to go and get his gloves?
  • Do the people going in and coming out of the bar know about the impending disaster?
  • Who feels the tension? The narrator or the terrorist?
  • On whose account is the tension? Why does the narrator feel tensed?

to be continued

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
To the Evening Star To the Evening Star By William Blake   About the Poet William Blake was born in London, England, on the 28th of November, 1757, to a middle-class family of artisans (a worker in a skilled trade, especially one that involves making things by hand).He was the third of seven children. The Bible had a great influence on Blake as a child. William Blake was a very versatile (multitalented) person, being a poet, engraver (someone who cuts designs or words on metal, glass, or wood), painter and printmaker as well as visionary (a person with original ideas about what the future will or could be like). Some consider Blake ‘far and away the greatest artist Britain has ever produced’. Blake is generally acclaimed for his powerful expression and creativity.  The Poem TO THE EVENING STAR Thou fair-hair'd angel of the evening, Now, whilst the sun rests on the mountains, light Thy bright torch of love; thy radiant crown Put on, and smile upon our even...
Read more

Literature - G.C. E. (O/L) Poems on Life -The Clown's Wife

Image
The Clown’s Wife by Johnson Agard  Quick overview about the poet Johnson Agard was born in British Guiana (now called Guyana) in the Caribbean, in 1949. He moved to the UK in late 1970 and is well known for powerful and fun performance of his work. He went on to study English, French and Latin at A-level, writing his first poetry when he was in sixth-form, and left school in 1967. He taught the languages he had studied and worked in a local library. He was also a sub-editor and feature writer for the Guyana Sunday Chronicle, publishing two books while he was still in Guyana. His awards included the 1997 Paul Hamlyn Award for Poetry, the Cholmondeley Award in 2004 and the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry in 2012 He lives in Lewes, East Sussex   We are going to discuss another poem. It is about a clown and we learn about the clown through  the voice of the clown's...
Read more

Literature - Farewell to Barn Stack and tree By A.E. Housman

Image
  Farewell to Barn Stack and Tree by A. E. Housma n About the Poet  Alfred Edward Housman (26 March 1859 – 30 April 1936) He was an English classical scholar and poet . He began his life as a clerk in the patent office and worked for eleven years. In 1896 he published A Shropshire Lad a compilation of his poetry collection consisting of his sixty three poems. In 1911 he became the professor of Latin in Cambridge  and a fellow of Trinity College. In 1936 he passed away in a nursing home in his sleep. The Poem Farewell to Barn and Stack and Tree   Farewell to barn and stack and tree,          Farewell to Severn shore. Terence, look your last at me,          For I come home no more.”        "The sun burns on the half-mown hill,          By now the blood is dried; And Maurice amongst the...
Read more