Leningrad Cemetery, Winter of 1941 Analysis

Matt Cingari E 110 February 11, 2010 Sharon Olds Leningrad Cemetery, Winter of 1941 is a in truth woeful and dreary poesy. This is because Olds writes about the strife of Leningrad, a 900-day siege of Leningrad during World contend II, and the emotional statelessness that is going on afterwards. Olds interchange choice throughout the verse is rattling important to the guessing of this poem. The way that she writes about this mesh paints a very distinctly picture in my mind of what she is describing. many a(prenominal) times thorough the poem, Olds compares life and demise many times with different semblances.Olds starts off-key the poem by saying That pass, the idle could not be buried. (1) This creates a pitiable tone for when the rest of the poem. She then dialogue about the atmosp present of the aftermath of the contend with treatments that back up you create a very vivid picture in your head of what she is talking about. She says things like the grime was frozen(2), sub-zero air(5), dark stuff (6), and their pale, gauze, tapered shapes(9). To me, these descriptive words help me create a visual of what is indite down because these words are sad and dark descriptive words.Olds also says So they were covered with something/ and taken on a childs sled to the necropolis/ in the sub-zero air. (3-5) When Olds says this it make outs me think whether she gravel the word childs in the poem on purpose. I think she put this in because a childs sled is used in the winter to lay down fun however, Olds says that they are using it as a way to carry-over dead bodies to the cemetery. This is because she is canvass life and decease by using a sled, which is supposed(p) to be used for fun in the winter, as a transportation doohickey of corpses.When Olds says stiff as retreats that will be fall apart down the center/ when the sore life inside is prepared(10-11) Again, Olds is analyze life and death by comparing the stiff corpses to retrea ts. The ambiguity in this comparison is that the poem says that the cocoon will split down the center bringing freshly life when it is ready. I think she says this because when she says that when the cocoon splits to start a raw(a) life, it could mean that their new life is not here on earth, but in heaven.Though, the cocoon comparison could also mean that the battle was a turning point in the war. This is because Russia gained momentum against Germany with that victory, which did start a new life in the war. A tip over reaching out/ with no fall guy of peace, wanting to behave back (15-16) is some other comparison of life to death. Olds is saying that the lifeless corpse is still making a gesture saying that the dead would give-up the ghost if they could at any price.She says that those people who died in the battle, the corpses, would do anything even to the bread make of glue and sawdust, / even to the icy winter, and the siege. (18-19) I think that the moral of this poem is that life is precious, and that life should never be taken for granted. I think this is because the whole poem is comparisons between life and death, and because she says that the people who have passed away would do anything possible to come back to life, even under the vanquish conditions, to be loved, to love, and to be with the people they love.