Comments on: Gallows Humour http://benabuya.com/2006/11/18/gallows-humour/ looking for alternative explanations Tue, 20 Jul 2010 04:49:36 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Sebelsky http://benabuya.com/2006/11/18/gallows-humour/#comment-94 Sebelsky Tue, 28 Nov 2006 00:00:46 +0000 http://deba.wordpress.com/2006/11/18/gallows-humour/#comment-94 I thought the point of the poem was that the Jews are now happy that they're dying of the Plague so that the Christians can't blame it on them and kill them. I thought the point of the poem was that the Jews are now happy that they’re dying of the Plague so that the Christians can’t blame it on them and kill them.

]]> By: Conrad http://benabuya.com/2006/11/18/gallows-humour/#comment-73 Conrad Sun, 19 Nov 2006 09:40:09 +0000 http://deba.wordpress.com/2006/11/18/gallows-humour/#comment-73 Yes, good job on the translation, although perhaps "Between that time and this", and perhaps line 4 wants another iamb before 'to shout'? Ie. 'appears to x and shout'... I'm glad to see some modern Jewish poetry translated; most of the stuff I've seen is horribly maudlin stuff in the New Yorker about remembering hanukkah and crap like that. Yes, good job on the translation, although perhaps “Between that time and this”, and perhaps line 4 wants another iamb before ‘to shout’? Ie. ‘appears to x and shout’… I’m glad to see some modern Jewish poetry translated; most of the stuff I’ve seen is horribly maudlin stuff in the New Yorker about remembering hanukkah and crap like that.

]]> By: Daniel http://benabuya.com/2006/11/18/gallows-humour/#comment-72 Daniel Sun, 19 Nov 2006 07:57:27 +0000 http://deba.wordpress.com/2006/11/18/gallows-humour/#comment-72 My reading is not that it is so much black humour as a bitter sarcasm - a hatred (self-hatred?) of the idealised "ghetto Jew" who desires so much to be like everyone else and not be hated that he slits his own throat - the same ideal that the Zionist project claimed to attempt to overthrow. Well done on the translation, though - I'd like to read more Tchernichovsky. My reading is not that it is so much black humour as a bitter sarcasm – a hatred (self-hatred?) of the idealised “ghetto Jew” who desires so much to be like everyone else and not be hated that he slits his own throat – the same ideal that the Zionist project claimed to attempt to overthrow.

Well done on the translation, though – I’d like to read more Tchernichovsky.

]]> By: Jen http://benabuya.com/2006/11/18/gallows-humour/#comment-70 Jen Sun, 19 Nov 2006 02:24:19 +0000 http://deba.wordpress.com/2006/11/18/gallows-humour/#comment-70 Haha nice. The black humour definitely does it for me. Haha nice. The black humour definitely does it for me.

]]> By: Jim http://benabuya.com/2006/11/18/gallows-humour/#comment-69 Jim Sat, 18 Nov 2006 16:51:00 +0000 http://deba.wordpress.com/2006/11/18/gallows-humour/#comment-69 Thanks very much for this. It's quite a piece. Thanks very much for this. It’s quite a piece.

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