Topic 6 (session A) - Style and Style variation > Style variation within a poem

Style variation within a poem

On this page we will explore how a particular poet uses what we know intuitively about Noun Phrase structure, along with other features of language, to read/ understand/ interpret his poem.

Below is a poem by the Jewish Canadian musician, artist and poet, Leonard Cohen . The poem, 'All there is to Know about Adolph Eichmann' is ostensibly about an infamous World War II Nazi who was the mastermind behind the movement to put Jews in the concentration camps. It is estimated that Eichmann sent 6 million Jews to their deaths. He was tried in Israel in 1961 for crimes against the Jewish people, found guilty of all 15 criminal charges against him, and hanged (You can view a history of the trial).

Task - All there is to know about Adolph Eichmann

Read the poem below carefully two or three times and then answer the questions below it.

ALL THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT ADOLPH EICHMANN

What did you expect?

Talons?

Oversize Incisors?

Green saliva?

Madness?

(c) 1964, Leonard Cohen. All rights reserved.

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