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JoannaKruczkowska
interrogatinggazemaysymbolisetheBritishwishforsilencingthe
Cypriots-andGreeksbyextension,togetherwiththeworld)sopin-
ion.TouseDerekMahon)sphrasehere,theBritishsearchfor“mute
phenomena”
,yetthephenomenaemitsoundsanddisplayaperson-
alityoftheirown,theytestifyandwitness.Natureismuteneitherin
Homer,norinSeferis,norinAuden.Inhis“Memorial”
,thebody,
called“theflesh”andOurWeakness,speaksinthelastpartofthe
poem,participatesandinfluencesthecourseofhistorythroughout
ages(Collected292-3).
WrittenafewyearsaferhismissioninGermanywiththeU.S.
StrategicBombingSurvey,Auden)s“Memorial”(1949)byreference
strengthenstheclaimofsilencingpublicopinioninSeferis)spoem.
Inthesummerof1945thePentagonsentAudenaspartofagroupto
carryoutasurveyofGermancitiesthathadbeenbombedbytheAl-
lies.HespentthemajorityofhisstayinDarmstadt,bombedin1944,
conductinginterviewswithcivilians.Te“Memorial”elegy,written
asareactiontothattraumaticexperience,showsequallytheworld
oftheHolocaustvictimsandofthenationthatbreditsperpetrators
nowturnedintovictims.Openinghispoemwithacombinationof
adistant,fatalisticandtimelessattitudewhichhedetectsinHomer,
AudenalsomakesanallusiontotheTrojanWar,anothervitalpoint
ofreferenceforthewholeofSeferis)sCyprusvolume.Inoneofthe
poemsinthecollection,“Helen”
,Seferisclaims,followingEuripides,
thatHelenwasaphantomsubstitutedfortherealwomanhidden
elsewhere,andthusthattheTrojanWarwasfoughtoveranillusion.
Tishypothesis(whichisstrengthenedbytheironicuseoftheword
“idyll”andcouldbeelaboratedonbyreferencetoAuden)s“Shieldof
Achilles”)stripsbaretheabsurdityofanywar,andcouldbefurther
seenasvalidatedbySeferis)sallusiontoEliot)simageofawarfought
foreconomicreasonswithoutanyrespectnorconcernformean-
ing,ritualorhumanlife(“TeWasteLand”).Tisallusionfindsits
rathersurprisingwayintothepoemviathedog.
TespiritandthepositionoftheremarksaboutthedoginSef-
eris)spoemresonatewiththeconversationofStetsonwithhisac-
quaintancein“TeWasteLand”
.“Mindthedog”inSeferis)spoem
(Collected268)echoestheabove-mentionedconversation:“Okeep
theDogfarhence…lOrwithhisnailshe)lldigitupagain!”
,“it”
beingacorpse“planted”inthegarden(Eliot,“WasteLand”2184).
