Didactic elegy

‘Didactic elegy’ is a poem in Ben Lerner’s book, ‘Angle of Yaw’. Published in 2006, Lerner wrote the poem in the wake of 9/11 and as such, it talks about the collapse of the Twin Towers. In addition, the poem focuses on art, poetry and criticism of art. Because of the impact that the collapse of the Twin Towers had on the United States and the number of people who died on that horrible day, this discussion will respond to the section of the poem that talks of the tragedy that was 9/11.

Lerner says in the poem, ‘many men and women were described as heroes/The first men and women described as heroes were in the towers/ (3:2-3). The above statement raises a few questions, the first being, are the people who died in the collapse of the Twin Towers heroes, and if they were, why are they considered so? The above questions may seem like pouring cold water on those who lost their lives on that fateful day. However, this is not the case because as Lerner says, ‘To call them heroes implies they were willing to accept their deaths/but then why did some men and women jump from the Towers.’ (3:4-5).

Were those who died heroes then? That is a good question. If we are to go back into time to that day, the hijacked planes crashed into the Twin Towers without warning and killed numerous people. These innocent citizens had arrived for work just like any other normal day. Their lives were cut short however, and I’m a sure that many would have wanted their lives to be spared. As Lerner says, a hero is ‘one willing to accept their death’ (3:3), however ‘meaningless’ (2:22) it may be. As the deceased may not have accepted their deaths as they tried their best to survive, Lerner seems to say, they cannot be considered heroes. Nonetheless, I believe that those who died are heroes, not because they accepted their deaths, but because they lost their lives at a time when the US was in its darkest hour, when it was under attack from its enemies.

P.S. Actually, it is quite difficult text, so I just want to know what you think about it.