The Bright Lights of Sarajevo- Tony Harrison

• Context:

  - Written by Tony Harrison, he was a war journalist and poet

  - He wrote about the Bosnian war

  - This poem was a first account of what he saw

  - It first appeared in the Gardian in 1995, towards the end of the war
• Points:

  - Poem about the resilience and endurance of the people of Bosnia, they carry on with their lives despite the horrors

  - The war is present and a pressing issue, though people feel the necessity to live in the moment and still appreciate little beauties

  - Explores the challenges and dangers of life in Bosnia, however at night, people are defiant

  - At night, people's identities and differences seem to disappear, there is less conflict at night and a sense of safety

  - Structure: Anaphora, repetition of a word at the beginning of a stanza, enjambement and juxtapositions, to create a contrast between the war and people's attitudes to their lives
• "After the hours that Sarajevans pass queuing with empty canisters of gas to get the refills they wheel home in prams, or queuing for precious meagre grams of bread they're rationed to each day, often dodging snipers on the way"


  - People trying to survive through the horrors and the struggles of everyday life

  - Contrasts to at night

  - References to poverty and food shortages during wartime

  - Verbs such as "queuing" and "dodging" suggest struggle of everything

  - Juxtaposition, shows people's everyday struggles followed by the struggles of war, shows people's hardships especially during the wartime

  - Gives the city a sense of fear and danger, everything is on edge
• "The young go walking at stroller's pace, black shapes impossible to mark as Muslim, Serb, Croat in such dark. In unlit streets you can't distinguish who calls bread hjleb or hleb or calls it kruh."

  - "Stroller's pace" shows the newfound safety that people feel at night, they defy the danger without any worries

  - "black shapes" gives us an insight into how unclear everything was

  - People have no labels or distinguishing identity, the difference between people fade, so there is no judgment or conflict

  - Different words for bread, unable to tell where people are from, this creates an illusion of safety

  - Peaceful simplicity to walk at night, contrasts to daytime where everyone is tense and living on edge
• "But they don't collide except as one of the flirtatious ploys when a girl's shape is fancied by a boy's"


  - This gives a sense of human spirit

  - People still want to live their lives as if there are no issues in the city

  - Despite the war, people focus on making relationships and meet other people, they have no opportunity any other time because of the war dictating their everyday lives, need an escape from the horrors of reality

  - Shows the craving for love and human interaction
• "Then the tender radar of the tone of voice shows its signals she approves his choice"


  - "Tender" gives a sense of safety and a theme of romance

  - Again emphasises the darkness and the need of human interaction and intimacy, because the world they live in provides no comfort nor unity

  - Conflict is mainly forgotten, love blossoms in a place of danger, juxtaposition

  - Shows how vulnerable people are, they are open with each other, again no judgment at night
• "Serb mortars massacred the breadshop queue and blood-dunked crusts of shredded bread lay on this pavement with the broken dead"


  - Brutal reminder of the war, very prominent juxtaposition, shows the resilience of people who continue with their lives and find escapes for the horrors, people have ways of adapting to wartime

  - "Massacred", "blood-dunked", "broken dead" all bring back the sense of danger and fear in the city

  - Extreme contrast between the night and the war going on around them, people co-exist with it

  - Powerful reminder of the past

  - AABBCC rhyming scheme
• "Now even the smallest clouds have cleared away, leaving the Sarajevo star-filled evening sky ideally bright and clear for bombers eye"


  - References to the conflict they are living in

  - War imagery show the reality of life, people still appreciate the beauty of their city

  - Juxtaposition, the clear sky is a nice change for the residents, but increases the risks of bombings, so puts them in even more danger

  - People acknowledge the danger that they are in, however they know the importance of living in the moment

  - People are aware that safety is an illusion
• "The dark boy-shape leads the dark girl shape away to share one coffee in a candlelit café until the curfew, and he holds her hand behind AID flour sacks refilled with sand"


  - An image of ease and non-urgency

  - "He holds her hand" romantic image, again links to the human spirit

  - Another reminder of the war, but this time there is no sense of necessity or urgency

  - Gives one possibility of hope and a peaceful future of them together