The Deep Oppression of the Jews

Sonnet in Time of Affliction by A.M. Klein

By: Kevin Wattel

Teacher: Mrs. C. Faber
Class: English 11U
Date Due: February 8, 2012

Throughout history and even to the present day, the descendants of the Hebrews, the Jews,
have been persecuted, discriminated and treated unjustly. Abraham Moses Klein was a Canadian author
that wrote the poem Sonnet in Times of Affliction. This poem highlights the Jewish history in key areas
and reconstructs the past in ways not seen by the ill-informed. Although some see Kleins poem as
nothing more than a portrayal of Jewish oppression, Klein is really highlighting three main points; the
question of where the mighty warriors are, the point that the Jewish people were strong once and lastly,
his regret for not fighting with his people.
Klein was born in a Jewish home before the time of the World Wars. He grew up in a Jewish
community and had a good understanding of Jewish history. When Klein wrote Sonnet in Time of
Affliction in October of 1929, he wanted to stress the hardships that the Jews had to undergo
throughout history. Klein begins his poem on the grounds that the heroes and leaders of the Jewish line
are gone. He speaks predominantly on the subject of the mighty warriors. Klein focuses on the topic of
three people and groups in particular; he mentions King David, the king of Israel and of the Jewish
people, in addition he speaks of the mighty warriors of the Jewish race and he sheds light on the mighty
revolt leader Bar Cochba, who began a revolt in Egypt in 132-136 BC. Klein mentions these people and
groups because he sees the power his people once had. His people were once a people of great
warriors, a people of strength and prosperity, a people where they were not oppressed by others. Klein
wants the mighty warriors back, he wants to regain that power that they once had. But instead he sees
holy places profane spiders crawl (Klein, Line 7) and how The jackal leaves foul marks on the
temple-stones.(Klein, Line 8) It is interesting to note how Klein explains the current state of his people
in Line 4 of his poem, The lion of Judah seeks to roar, but groans (Klein, Line 4) Klein illustrates how
the Jewish people are weary with all their oppression; they want to end it all, they want to break free

from their oppression. But alas, the lion groans, the peoples cry goes unanswered. His people are stuck.
He wonders if an awakening will ever begin.
Klein looks back on the days when his people were might and strong, when the Maccabees
reigned and fought back from their oppressors, the Seleucid Greeks. Klein sees the victory his people
received and the blessings which sprung freely from that. He sees how a people of peace have to take
up arms and fight back, regain their freedom, regain what was always theirs and how they must regain
their lives. Klein makes his reference to the Maccabees because he sees that they fought for their
freedom. The Maccabees were a people in the inter-testimonial period that was oppressed by the
Seleucid Greeks. For 25 years a religious war broke out and between the two nations. The emphasis of
the sonnet has shifted to the towering example of Jews as warrior-defenders of themselves and their
homeland. (Richard Lemm, http://www.lib.unb.ca) The poem really senses that a new awakening must
occur in order for the Jewish people to break free from their oppression. Even though the Jews are a
people of peace, as mentioned by Richard Lemm, they must take up arms when necessary and fight back
for their freedom.
Kleins only regret is that he did not join in the fight in breaking free from the oppressors of the
Jewish people. It is strongly believed that the inference in the last line of the poem, Who languish here
beneath the Northern Stars (Klein, Line 14), refers to the conflict in Palestine in 1917. The British
oppressed the Jewish people in Palestine. But the people fought back, reenacting a Modern Maccabees
idea. Along with writing poetry, Klein also was a journalist, and thus had a strong base for militant
defense. In one of his articles he writes,
But if there be those who reject our offers of friendship and spurn our messages of good-will,
answering the outstretched palm with the brandished scimitar, then do we declare that the spirit of the

Maccabees is not dead in us, and that if we must defend ourselves, the Shield of David is at hand.
(Klein, The Modern Maccabees)
Klein clearly has the spirit of a Maccabee. He stands for his religious freedom and will not allow
oppression for his people or for himself. However, he writes in his thirteenth line how he regrets not
being one of these. One of these, meaning, the Jewish people who fought for their freedom and who
fought for their families and believes.
It is despairing to see such courage and certainty in Klein, and yet know that in a little more than
one decade, the Jewish people will be oppressed once again in the Second World War. Klein lived in the
time of the evilest Jewish persecution in history. After wishfully commanding his people to stand up for
their belief and freedoms, they get knock down right to the ground by an entire country. Klein portrays
in his poem the need for an awakening. He asks where the great warriors of old are, he seeks to find
them but they are gone. He remembers the times where his people fought back and wishes that time
could come again. Klein hears of the persecution his brothers are facing and regrets that he did not take
part in defending them. Klein looks to the future with hope, but what the future brought, not even Klein
could have imagined. The LORD speaks through Matthew in Matthew 5:10 when He says, Blessed are
those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew
5:10, NIV)

Work Cited
"Abraham Moses Klein Biography | BookRags.com." BookRags.com | Study Guides, Lesson
Plans, Book Summaries and More. Web. 07 Feb. 2012.
<http://www.bookrags.com/biography/abraham-moses-klein/>.

"BAR KOKBA AND BAR KOKBA WAR." JewishEncyclopedia.com. Web. 07 Feb. 2012.
Horton, Samantha. Klein. Web. 07 Feb. 2012.

Horton, Samantha. Klein. Web. 07 Feb. 2012. <http://portraitofthepoet.tumblr.com/>.

Lemm, Richard. "IZAK AND ISHMAEL: A.M. KLEIN'S ZIONIST POETRY AND THE PALESTINIAN
CONFLICT." Studies in Canadian Literature. Web. 7 Feb. 2012.
<http://www.lib.unb.ca/Texts/SCL/bin/get.cgi?directory=vol16_2/&filename=Lemm.ht
m>.