19 pages • 38 minutes read
Yehuda AmichaiThe Diameter of the Bomb
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1979A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
The Technology of War
The bomb is given little description beyond its miniature size and the range of its effect. The poet does not specify the type of bomb, or the precise location where it was targeted. Instead, the poet leaves the technology of war as the sole fact of the bomb, without naming the specific type of bomb or the reason it was used. Amichai is demonstrating the detached, inhumane view of those who create such destructive weapons, as this technology is created with little thought for the suffering that it can create. The language of mathematics and science, particularly the word “diameter,” (Lines 1-2) is replaced when Amichai shifts his diction to the more symbolically rich and visual description of a “circle,” (Line 5). The shifting language allows Amichai to explore how the technology of war relies on the advancement of science. He is pointing out that the immense progress of human technology in the 20th century has not been wholly good, as it has also created a greater potential for the destruction of human life. The use of technical language in the first three lines of the poem emphasizes this perception of the bomb first as simply a scientific marvel, and then for what is truly is, which is a means of destroying human life.
The first three lines emphasize the utility of the bomb and its power as a matter of physics. The tone and diction capture a perspective on the bomb as simply a tool of war with a purpose that it must fulfill. All that matters about the bomb to its creators is simply what it can do – and the lack of context for the bomb emphasizes how the decisions about implementing the technology of war are made with little thought about the harm these choices cause for humanity. Amichai captures a sense of detachment from the real world in his description of this technology. He is employing a tone of casual observation and even callousness: the bomb removes the sense of individuality from those it harms, as they are identified as numbers rather than by their names. Amichai does this in order to show through his tone and imagery that war destroys the human spirit by treating people as expendable, as mere casualties. The factual tone and simple imagery of the poem’s first four lines also reduce any sense of danger or fear of this weapon. As the tone shifts from a scientific description to a description of the human results of war, the immense power of this technology to ruin lives is brought to the forefront of this poem.
Death and Loss
The themes of death and loss pervade the poem, creating a web of harm. Amichai connects the events through the shared pain brought about by the bomb. The first moment in which death and loss are mentioned is on Line 4, although it’s mentioned in a somewhat dehumanizing manner: Amichai only mentions the number of those who were harmed but does not give any more biographical details that might create a sense of sympathy. The cold tone that Amichai employs toward these deaths sets up a contrast with the later feeling of devastation, anger, and infinite pain when Amichai describes the true nature of the suffering and the human cost of war. The compounding sadness and pain caused by the single bombing is emphasized further when the poet references a man who weeps because the young woman passed away. Amichai does not need to give too much detail or the specifics of the deaths or the people, as he is simply focused on how they are connected to each other through the multiplying echoes of suffering from the bombing. Finally, the “crying of orphans” (Line 15) expands the suffering to children who have lost their parents due to the bombing. In this emotionally powerful moment, Amichai uses imagery to develop the sense of loss even more deeply, connecting the bombing to the losses that these children endure.
Spirituality
Amichai expands the circle to include not only the Earth and all of its inhabitants, but even the universe and the void of space. This is how the poet conveys the link between spirituality and war, portraying how the bomb not only affects people emotionally but also causes people to question the way they see the world by inspiring questions about the universe and God. Witnessing such tragic and senseless violence can permanently change one’s perception of life, causing one to question life’s meaning or how God could allow something like this bombing to happen in the first place. Amichai is showing the paradoxical nature of this spiritual aspect by bringing in an image of the possibility of religious redemption in the orphans who are heard by God first. However, in the final line of the poem, Amichai forces the reader into a deeper sense of loss by removing that possibility of religious redemption in the final line. The final statement: “the circle without end and without God” (Line 18) points out that the bombing that kills innocent people makes one question whether God exists in such a cruel world.
In the final lines of the poem, fate and God erode and the poem ends on a note that expresses the feeling that there is no redemption for this tragedy and that it simply stands as a fact of the universe, something that cannot be changed or fixed.
