Introduction: “September Song” by Geoffrey Hill
“September Song” by Geoffrey Hill, first appeared in 1968 as part of his collection King Log, though brief, carries significant emotional weight and is known for its dense, controlled language and reflective tone. It is an elegy that mourns the death of a child, a victim of the Holocaust. Hill juxtaposes personal grief with historical atrocity, exploring the limits of language and moral responsibility in confronting such overwhelming tragedy. The poem’s stark, fragmented style emphasizes the inadequacy of art to fully convey the horrors of the past, yet insists on the necessity of bearing witness to them.
Text: “September Song” by Geoffrey Hill
Undesirable you may have been, untouchable
you were not. Not forgotten
or passed over at the proper time.
As estimated, you died. Things marched,
sufficient, to that end.
Just so much Zyklon and leather, patented
terror, so many routine cries.
(I have made
an elegy for myself it
is true)
September fattens on vines. Roses
flake from the wall. The smoke
of harmless fires drifts to my eyes.
This is plenty. This is more than enough.
Annotations: “September Song” by Geoffrey Hill
| Line | Annotation | Devices |
| Undesirable you may have been, untouchable you were not. | References the child victim as “undesirable,” possibly alluding to Nazi classifications of people, particularly Jews. “Untouchable” suggests dehumanization. | Antithesis (undesirable/untouchable), Allusion (Nazi classifications), Ambiguity (who “you” refers to, likely a Holocaust victim) |
| Not forgotten or passed over at the proper time. | Suggests that the victim, although forgotten by many, is remembered in this poem. “Passed over” may also allude to death at an early age. | Irony (proper time for death), Enjambment (continuing from the previous line), Contrast (remembered/forgotten) |
| As estimated, you died. Things marched, | “Estimated” echoes the mechanical, bureaucratic aspect of mass killings during the Holocaust. “Things marched” suggests the inevitable and systematic process. | Irony (death as estimated), Metaphor (marching to death), Symbolism (marching as a reference to military/war), Detached tone |
| Sufficient, to that end. | The use of “sufficient” reduces the act of killing to something functional and efficient, as though it’s a simple task. | Understatement (killing reduced to sufficiency), Euphemism (death as “that end”), Metonymy (process of extermination reduced to efficiency) |
| Just so much Zyklon and leather, patented terror, | “Zyklon” refers to Zyklon B, the gas used in concentration camps. “Leather” may symbolize SS uniforms or the mechanization of violence. “Patented terror” emphasizes industrialized killing. | Allusion (Zyklon B, Holocaust), Synecdoche (Zyklon and leather represent the whole process of killing), Juxtaposition (Zyklon and leather vs. terror) |
| so many routine cries. | “Routine cries” shows the desensitization to human suffering, as if cries were expected and normal. | Irony (cries as routine), Repetition (so many), Paradox (routine emotion), Understatement (desensitized suffering) |
| (I have made an elegy for myself it is true) | The parenthetical interrupts the narrative, suggesting the poet’s reflection on the act of writing itself. The elegy becomes personal for the poet. | Self-reflexivity (poet reflecting on his own mourning), Parenthesis (personal aside), Metaphor (elegy for self), Irony (poet’s own emotional involvement) |
| September fattens on vines. Roses flake from the wall. | Evokes the natural cycle of decay as time moves on, with “September” symbolizing ripening or endings. “Roses flaking” suggests the withering of beauty. | Symbolism (September as autumn, decay), Metaphor (roses flaking = beauty/fragility fading), Alliteration (fattens/flakes), Imagery (natural decay) |
| The smoke of harmless fires drifts to my eyes. | Smoke might be symbolic of Holocaust crematoria. The phrase “harmless fires” adds a bitter irony, contrasting the fires of death camps. | Symbolism (smoke, possibly referencing crematoria), Irony (harmless fires vs. death), Imagery (smoke drifting), Juxtaposition (harmless vs. horror) |
| This is plenty. This is more than enough. | The speaker acknowledges the overwhelming nature of the events and emotions, suggesting a limit to what one can endure or express in words. | Repetition (emphasizes emotional saturation), Understatement (plenty), Irony (more than enough), Anaphora (this is…), Ambiguity (this could refer to multiple things) |
Literary And Poetic Devices: “September Song” by Geoffrey Hill
| Device | Example | Explanation |
| Allusion | “Just so much Zyklon and leather, patented terror.” | Reference to Zyklon B, the gas used in the Holocaust, and “leather” likely symbolizes Nazi uniforms or mechanized brutality. |
| Ambiguity | “Untouchable you were not.” | The term “untouchable” can have multiple meanings, including moral untouchability or physical detachment, making the line open to interpretation. |
| Anaphora | “This is plenty. This is more than enough.” | The repetition of “this is” at the beginning of successive phrases emphasizes the overwhelming emotional weight felt by the speaker. |
| Antithesis | “Undesirable you may have been, untouchable you were not.” | The contrast between “undesirable” and “untouchable” highlights the victim’s societal rejection versus their human vulnerability, adding complexity to the speaker’s tone. |
| Assonance | “Roses flake from the wall.” | The repetition of the “a” sound in “flake” and “wall” creates a soft, decaying auditory effect that mirrors the poem’s themes of death and loss. |
| Detached Tone | “As estimated, you died.” | The cold, detached language mimics the bureaucratic and systematic nature of death during the Holocaust, reducing a life to something measured and calculated. |
| Euphemism | “To that end.” | “That end” is a euphemism for death, softening the harsh reality of the Holocaust, though the poem highlights the horror behind such sanitized language. |
| Enjambment | “Untouchable you were not. Not forgotten / or passed over.” | The thought continues beyond the line break, mimicking the continuation of memory and reflection beyond simple statements. |
| Hyperbole | “This is more than enough.” | The speaker uses exaggeration to express the overwhelming emotional burden and historical weight of the Holocaust’s atrocities. |
| Imagery | “September fattens on vines. Roses flake from the wall.” | Vivid visual imagery depicting natural decay, metaphorically linked to the destruction of human lives and the passage of time. |
| Irony | “The smoke of harmless fires drifts to my eyes.” | The word “harmless” is used ironically here, perhaps alluding to the Holocaust crematoria, contrasting harmless fires with devastating historical ones. |
| Juxtaposition | “Just so much Zyklon and leather, patented terror.” | Juxtaposition of mundane materials like “Zyklon” and “leather” with the horror of “patented terror” highlights the mechanized efficiency of genocide. |
| Metaphor | “September fattens on vines.” | The month of September is metaphorically described as “fattening,” symbolizing ripeness and decay as the passage of time toward inevitable death. |
| Metonymy | “Just so much Zyklon and leather.” | “Zyklon” (Zyklon B gas) and “leather” (possibly Nazi uniforms) stand for the entire system of dehumanization and mass murder during the Holocaust. |
| Parenthesis | “(I have made an elegy for myself it is true)” | The speaker interrupts the narrative with a parenthetical aside, reflecting on their personal emotional investment and self-awareness of their role as the elegy’s author. |
| Repetition | “This is plenty. This is more than enough.” | Repetition of “this is” emphasizes the emotional exhaustion and the overwhelming nature of the subject matter. |
| Symbolism | “The smoke of harmless fires.” | Smoke is symbolic of the Holocaust crematoria, though the phrase “harmless fires” juxtaposes the idea of natural smoke with the historical reality of genocide. |
| Synecdoche | “Zyklon and leather” | “Zyklon” and “leather” are parts representing a larger system of terror and dehumanization in the Holocaust. |
| Understatement | “Sufficient, to that end.” | The use of “sufficient” underplays the horrific reality of death, reflecting how the systematic murders were treated with chilling indifference by the perpetrators. |
Themes: “September Song” by Geoffrey Hill
- Holocaust and Historical Atrocity: One of the central themes of “September Song” is the Holocaust and the industrialized nature of mass murder during World War II. The poem references the Holocaust explicitly with the line “Just so much Zyklon and leather, patented terror,” referring to the Zyklon B gas used in Nazi concentration camps and the mechanized efficiency of the killings. Hill captures the horrifying reality of history by presenting it in cold, detached terms, reducing lives lost to “routine cries” and presenting death as something “estimated,” highlighting the bureaucratic efficiency of genocide. The Holocaust is not just remembered, but its dehumanizing nature is starkly rendered in the poem’s language.
- Memory and Mourning: “September Song” reflects on the act of remembering and mourning the dead, particularly the victims of atrocity. The speaker expresses an awareness of the persistence of memory in lines like “Not forgotten or passed over at the proper time,” which suggests that despite the bureaucratic indifference toward human life, the victim is not forgotten by the speaker. The poem becomes a form of elegy, a way of preserving memory, as acknowledged in the line “(I have made an elegy for myself it is true).” This self-reflection reveals how personal mourning can intersect with the mourning of historical events, as the speaker grapples with both personal and collective grief.
- The Inevitability of Death: Death is presented as an inevitable part of the human experience, both in individual lives and on a large, systematic scale during historical atrocities. The line “As estimated, you died. Things marched, sufficient, to that end,” emphasizes the inevitability and the mechanized progression toward death in a world where bureaucratic forces are in control. This cold, clinical treatment of death reflects the dehumanizing nature of the Holocaust, where death became a calculated outcome rather than a personal tragedy. Hill juxtaposes this historical inevitability with natural imagery in the line “September fattens on vines,” suggesting that just as nature progresses toward decay, so does human life march toward death.
- Nature and Decay: The imagery of nature in “September Song”—such as “September fattens on vines. Roses flake from the wall”—introduces the theme of natural decay and the passage of time. These images suggest that decay is an inevitable process not only in nature but also in human life, drawing a parallel between the natural world and historical atrocities like the Holocaust. The month of September, traditionally associated with harvest and the end of summer, symbolizes ripeness and the beginning of decay, further linking the natural cycle of death with the man-made horror of historical events. The imagery of “smoke of harmless fires” similarly evokes the duality of natural and man-made destruction, symbolizing both the passing of time and the haunting memory of death.
Literary Theories and “September Song” by Geoffrey Hill
| Literary Theory | Application to “September Song” | References from the Poem |
| Historical Criticism | Examines the poem within the context of World War II and the Holocaust. Hill’s poem is deeply rooted in the historical atrocity of the Holocaust, focusing on the dehumanization and systematic killing of victims. Historical criticism would analyze how the poem reflects the moral and ethical implications of that event. | “Just so much Zyklon and leather, patented terror” directly refers to the gas used in the extermination camps and the bureaucratic mechanisms of genocide. The detached tone in “As estimated, you died” mirrors the systematic approach to death during the Holocaust. |
| Postmodernism | Postmodern theory focuses on fragmentation, irony, and the breakdown of traditional narratives. “September Song” exhibits these characteristics with its fractured style, use of irony, and the interplay between personal and historical memory. Hill challenges the traditional elegy form by blending personal mourning with a critique of collective historical trauma. | The parenthetical line “(I have made an elegy for myself it is true)” reflects self-awareness and irony, typical of postmodernist literature. The poem’s fragmented structure, with shifts between historical atrocity and natural imagery, echoes postmodernist disorientation. |
| Psychoanalytic Criticism | This theory explores the emotional and psychological depth of the speaker, particularly focusing on trauma, mourning, and guilt. The poem’s elegiac nature and Hill’s reflection on memory suggest an unconscious grappling with collective trauma and personal emotional engagement with historical atrocities. | The line “I have made an elegy for myself” suggests a projection of the speaker’s own grief and sense of loss, blending personal mourning with historical mourning. The imagery of “smoke of harmless fires” may symbolically reflect the speaker’s attempt to process overwhelming historical trauma. |
Critical Questions about “September Song” by Geoffrey Hill
- How does Geoffrey Hill address the tension between personal and collective mourning in “September Song”?
- Geoffrey Hill explores the complex intersection of personal and collective mourning by blurring the boundaries between individual grief and historical atrocity. In the parenthetical line, “(I have made an elegy for myself it is true),” Hill introduces a moment of self-reflection, where the speaker acknowledges the personal nature of mourning. This line suggests that the act of writing the elegy is not just a tribute to the Holocaust victim but also a way for the speaker to process their own grief. However, this personal mourning is continuously framed within the broader, collective tragedy of the Holocaust, particularly in the references to “Zyklon and leather” and the “routine cries.” The poem invites readers to reflect on how individual grief can be both separate from and intertwined with the weight of historical memory, particularly in the face of large-scale atrocities where personal identities become submerged within collective suffering.
- In what ways does “September Song” highlight the dehumanization of Holocaust victims?
- Hill vividly captures the dehumanization of Holocaust victims by reducing their deaths to cold, mechanistic terms. The line “As estimated, you died” presents death as a pre-calculated outcome, stripping the individual of any sense of identity or humanity. This bureaucratic approach to death is further emphasized in the phrase “Just so much Zyklon and leather, patented terror,” where Hill references Zyklon B, the gas used to kill victims, and the leather likely alludes to the uniforms of Nazi soldiers. The poem underscores how the Holocaust turned human lives into mere numbers, cataloged and disposed of with terrifying efficiency. By using terms like “routine cries,” Hill reinforces the idea that the suffering and deaths of the victims became normalized, routine, and expected, further underscoring the systematic dehumanization that characterized the Holocaust.
- What role does nature play in “September Song” in relation to death and decay?
- Nature in “September Song” serves as both a metaphor for death and a reflection of the natural cycle of decay, offering a parallel to the historical atrocities discussed in the poem. The line “September fattens on vines. Roses flake from the wall” invokes the image of ripening and withering, suggesting that just as nature reaches its peak in September before descending into decay, human life also moves inexorably toward death. This natural cycle mirrors the unnatural, mechanized death that took place during the Holocaust. The image of “the smoke of harmless fires” also evokes natural processes, yet the mention of smoke might be an indirect allusion to the crematoria, turning the idea of natural decay into something profoundly disturbing. Hill uses these natural images to subtly comment on the tension between natural, inevitable death and the historical horrors of mass extermination, where death was inflicted artificially and systematically.
- How does Geoffrey Hill use irony in “September Song” to critique the language of atrocity?
- Irony plays a significant role in “September Song”, particularly in Hill’s critique of how language fails to capture the true horror of historical atrocities. In the line “The smoke of harmless fires drifts to my eyes,” the word “harmless” is deeply ironic, given that it likely alludes to the crematoria used to burn the bodies of Holocaust victims. The juxtaposition of “harmless” with the unimaginable violence of the Holocaust highlights the inadequacy of language to convey such horrors. Similarly, the phrase “patented terror” introduces an irony where terror is treated as something industrialized, efficient, and even trademarked, further critiquing the dehumanizing language used to describe genocide. By employing these ironic contrasts, Hill underscores the limitations of language in fully conveying the moral and emotional weight of such events, while also pointing to how bureaucratic language can sanitize and obscure atrocities.
Literary Works Similar to “September Song” by Geoffrey Hill
- “Fugue of Death” by Paul Celan
Similar to “September Song,” this poem reflects on the horrors of the Holocaust, using powerful imagery and fragmented language to express collective trauma and dehumanization. - “Requiem” by Anna Akhmatova
Akhmatova’s elegy for those who suffered under Stalinist purges mirrors Hill’s focus on mourning and the intersection of personal grief with historical atrocity. - “The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner” by Randall Jarrell
Like “September Song,” this poem reflects on the brutal reality of war and the dehumanization of individuals within systems of violence, using stark, detached language. - “MCMXIV” by Philip Larkin
This poem, focused on the impact of World War I, echoes Hill’s reflections on historical trauma, memory, and the ways in which war irreparably changes societies and individuals.
Representative Quotations of “September Song” by Geoffrey Hill
| Quotation | Context | Theoretical Perspective |
| “Undesirable you may have been, untouchable you were not.” | Refers to the child victim as classified undesirable by the Nazis but acknowledges their human vulnerability. | Postcolonial Theory (examining the dehumanization and marginalization of individuals) |
| “Not forgotten or passed over at the proper time.” | The speaker reflects on how the victim has not been forgotten, despite the systematic approach to their death. | Memory Studies (exploring the act of remembrance and the persistence of memory in historical trauma) |
| “As estimated, you died.” | Presents the victim’s death as a pre-calculated event, reducing human life to something measured and expected. | Marxist Criticism (criticizing the reduction of human life to numerical or economic calculations) |
| “Things marched, sufficient, to that end.” | Death is portrayed as an inevitable and mechanized outcome, continuing the theme of industrialized killing. | Structuralism (emphasizing the mechanization and systems that underpin societal operations, including mass death) |
| “Just so much Zyklon and leather, patented terror.” | References the gas used in the Holocaust and the uniforms of Nazi officers, symbolizing the industrialization of terror. | Historical Criticism (focusing on the historical context of the Holocaust and its mechanized brutality) |
| “So many routine cries.” | The speaker highlights the desensitization to the victims’ suffering, treating their pain as routine and expected. | Psychoanalytic Criticism (exploring the numbness and detachment in confronting overwhelming trauma) |
| “(I have made an elegy for myself it is true)” | The speaker reflects on the personal nature of the elegy, acknowledging their own emotional involvement. | Postmodernism (self-reflexivity and the blending of personal and collective grief in postmodern elegy) |
| “September fattens on vines. Roses flake from the wall.” | Natural imagery contrasts with the historical atrocity, symbolizing decay and the passage of time. | Ecocriticism (exploring the relationship between nature and historical events, emphasizing cycles of life and death) |
| “The smoke of harmless fires drifts to my eyes.” | The image of smoke is laden with irony, possibly referencing the crematoria while calling the fires “harmless.” | Irony (highlighting the contrast between harmless natural elements and the horrifying reality of historical events) |
| “This is plenty. This is more than enough.” | The speaker acknowledges the emotional weight of the Holocaust, suggesting the limit of what one can process or bear. | Trauma Theory (examining the overwhelming nature of historical trauma and the emotional saturation it creates) |
Suggested Readings: “September Song” by Geoffrey Hill
- Silkin, Jon. “The Poetry of Geoffrey Hill.” The Iowa Review, vol. 3, no. 3, 1972, pp. 108–28. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20157927. Accessed 18 Oct. 2024.
- Rugoff, Kathy. “‘wild Reasons of the State’: Geoffrey Hill’s Response to Adorno.” CEA Critic, vol. 73, no. 2, 2011, pp. 70–90. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44378444. Accessed 18 Oct. 2024.
- Sherman, David. “Elegy under the Knife: Geoffrey Hill and the Ethics of Sacrifice.” Twentieth Century Literature, vol. 54, no. 2, 2008, pp. 166–92. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20479847. Accessed 18 Oct. 2024.
- Meiners, R. K. “MOURNING FOR OUR SELVES AND FOR POETRY: THE LYRIC AFTER AUSCHWITZ.” The Centennial Review, vol. 35, no. 3, 1991, pp. 545–90. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23738742. Accessed 18 Oct. 2024.
- Hammer, Langdon, et al. “The American Poetry of Thom Gunn and Geoffrey Hill.” Contemporary Literature, vol. 43, no. 4, 2002, pp. 644–66. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1209037. Accessed 18 Oct. 2024.