Poem 239 Page 301

"The Riddle" by William Heyen is a strong poem with a powerful message. It effectively takes the subject of the holocaust and shows it in an accusatory and critical way. The use of repetition is all over the piece. "Not I", "and some", and of course that probing query, "Who killed the Jews?" are all lines that are seen over and over again throughout. All of the repeating lines are denying their involvement, accusing involvement, and simply asking who's fault it all was. The repetition emphasizes the blame and how it travels from one person to a group to a situation. It never settles on one thing that caused the killing of innocent people in the masses. From line 14 to line 26 the list of people and things that were involved in the killing of the Jews is long and seemingly never-ending. Everyone played a part, but no one admitted it. The assumption was most likely, the more we deny, the more probable it is; and that is the reason for the repetition.

The rhyme scheme is ABCB until lines 15-24, where the list of the guilty is. The use of a rhyme scheme in poetry lets the reader have an idea of what to expect as each stanza is read. This pairs with the repetition. If the line" Who killed the Jews?" is used at the end of each stanza, it is expected that it will be present. The second line of four of the stanzas rhymes with Jews, therefore the repeated line is anticipated. This predictable line is there because of the rhyme scheme and the repetition. It helps stress and highlight the power of the poem.

I really felt something from this poem, even though it is an upsetting subject matter, the power of it makes it great. The lines 9-11 show a personal perspective to connect the speaker. The imagery of the fourth stanza is so effective and shows the ignorance of the soldiers; how they didn't help these suffering people. The answer to the riddle, who killed the Jews, is silence. The silence of the prisoners who were not allowed to speak, the soldiers who were ordered to obey Hitler, those who smelled smoke but never cried fire, all remained silent when asked the question "Who killed the Jews?". Their inability to admit their involvement caused a massive footprint, not just in the history books or burned into the minds of the survivors, but the whole universe is affected by this sadistic horror that occured. The stars, the sun, the moon, will all remember and carry this impactive event forever, specifically the freedoms taken from the prisoners "gold, shoes, skin".