Compare the poems by Szymborska and Milosz read over the course of this unit. All are important twentieth-century writers addressing a similar theme: death. Which poets address it in terms of the times they live in (and its threat of fascism) and which address it in a more personal way? Characterize each poet's treatment of this theme, citing evidence from the poems.

Milosz writes poems about death during his time in times of the threat of fascism. In his poem, 'Song of a Citizen', the first verse is:

A stone from the bottom, who has seen the seas dry up

And a million white fish leaping in torture,

I - poor man, see swarms of white denuded people

Without freedom, I see the crab which feeds on their flesh.

He portrayed the destruction of human beings, races and nations. with the literary death of fish, insects, crabs and reptiles. This was his attack on the inherent fascism which brings brutality to humanity during war.

On the other hand, Szymborska writes about death in a more personal way. On her poem entitled "On Death, without Exaggeration",

Death

always arrives by that very moment too late.

In vain it tugs at the knob

of the invisible door.

As far as you've come

can't be undone.

She grew up in Poland during the World War. She has seen a lot of deaths and is likely very afraid of it. But over time, she learned to conquer her fears and she showed us that death has its weakness, too.