35 pages • 1 hour read
The End and the Beginning
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Symbols & Motifs
The Cameras
In Stanza 5, Szymborska makes readers aware of the presence of cameras by removing them from the poem altogether. The speaker states,
photogenic it’s not,
and takes years.
All of the cameras have left
for another war (Lines 18-21).
On the surface, the cameras represent the news media, capturing moments of violent combat and calling it content: a traumatic story that viewers cannot help but watch unfold. However, the cameras also represent the inherent circularity of war. Szymborska cites “another war,” implying that large-scale combat is never-ending, cycling through various countries just like the news stories that cover the devastation (Line 21). As soon as one war ends, another begins, making readers startlingly aware of the circularity of the poem itself. The inherent peace Szymborska establishes within the post-war future of Stanza 10 will inevitably be disrupted by another war, forcing readers back to Stanza 1. The symbol of the camera reinforces Szymborska’s argument that war does not mark the end of suffering, but the cause of more trauma.
The Grass
The grass that is introduced in the final stanza of “The End and the Beginning” is one of the poem’s most versatile symbols. In Stanza 10, Szymborska writes about a future far beyond the post-war reconstruction efforts. She depicts the progression of time by noting that “the grass” is “overgrown” (Line 43). Overgrowth occurs when plant life is undisturbed, expanding beyond its normal size because of a lack of human interference. Here, Szymborska uses the grass as a symbol of hope, revealing that nature is healing, untouched by the destructive forces of human conflict.
However, the overgrown grass described in Stanza 10 also functions as a symbol of deception. The overgrowth is made of “causes and effects,” that someone is “stretched out” on top of, with a “blade of grass in his mouth / gazing at the clouds” (Lines 44-47). Here, the grass hides all of the turmoil and devastation brought on by the war, exposing how quickly future generations forget about the terrible events that shaped their own communities. Szymborska uses the grass to show the futility of war: not only is the hard work forgotten, but so too are the “causes” of the war itself. Keeping with the tone of the rest of the poem, Szymborska asserts that the violence of war is useless, forgotten as quickly as it began (Line 44).
The Human Cost of War
The central motif of “The End and the Beginning” is the human cost of war. Szymborska centers the stories of vulnerable citizens throughout this poem, as they work to rebuild their own communities. In doing so, she departs from the standard conventions of war poetry. Previously, war was only ever humanized through the first-person perspective of male soldiers within poems. The tone of such poems is heroic, explicitly detailing moments of violent combat as a means of valorizing the soldiers that fought within it. However, Szymborska’s humane approach challenges previous depictions of war, appealing to her audience to care for everyone affected by war, not just for the soldiers. The poem also suggests that people forget the human cost of war when newer generations begin viewing suffering and reconstruction as something old and “rusted-out” (Line 35).
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By Wisława Szymborska
