The Tragic Tendency in the Poems of David Simony

Abstract

David Shimoni appeared on the scene of Hebrew literature in the first decade of the twentieth century and quickly joined the group of poets of his generation who were contemporary with Bialik, as they became pioneers in modern Hebrew literature.

     It is known that that era left its mark on all the creators of the generation and their works. Hence, the essence of the problems faced by Jews who were in the diaspora, especially those living in Europe, is diminished by aspiring to a new life in the homeland of their fathers, as they described it, in the East (Palestine).

    In most of his poems, Shimoni sang about his birthplace and the homeland of his family (Moscow). Likewise, Jerusalem was a large part of those poems, as this writer mixed his homeland in the north and compared it to the homeland of his ancestors “according to his claim” in order for this to be a means of influencing the reader.

    Stylistically, his poems are characterized by dense language, rich poetic imagery, and a melancholic rhythm, which lends the text a dramatic tone. It is noteworthy that, despite the tragic content, there is an implicit call for reflection and reconciliation with pain as part of the human experience.

   Shimoni wrote some of his poems that were characterized by sadness, and this reflects the psychological state of the poet. That is why we saw that this topic is worth examining, which is the tragic trend. Since Shimoni has given quite a bit of space. The poet created tragedy from the womb of pastoral chant and from the medium of his lyrical poetry, and mixed the two together to produce extremely beautiful poems that have a great impact on his audience.