1. Infer Notice how the speaker repeats the word "someone throughout the poem. What statement about war is she making by using an indefinite pronoun
rather than referring to a specific person?
2. Analyze Answer these questions to explore how Szymborska creates the tone
of the poem. Cite words and phrases from the poem to support your answers.
Does the speaker use formal or informal language? What is the effect of this
choice?
• What is the speaker's attitude toward the situation he or she is describing?
How does the tone of the poem change beginning with line 302
3. Interpret In line 18, the speaker says the aftermath of war is not "photogenic."
What images in the poem reinforce this idea about war? How does she show
the dimensions of the devastation?
.
4. Interpret Reread the last stanza of the poem. What does the grass symbolize,
or represent? What does the speaker mean when she describes someone as
being 'stretched out / blade of grass in his mouth/gazing at the clouds"?
5. Draw Conclusions Consider why Szymborska titled her poem "The End and
the Beginning" rather than using the more common order "The Beginning and
the End. How does the title reflect the message of the poem? Reread stanzas 5
and 10 and explain how they reflect this message.
6. Connect Poland experienced great political unrest and upheaval during
Szymborska's lifetime: Nazi and Soviet occupations during World War II, postwar
repressive Communist control, decades-long resistance of workers against
the Communist regime, and, in 1989, the election of a new, non-Communist
government. How does Poland's political situation inform Szymborska's choice
of subject and her tone in "The End and the Beginning?