Lament For Boromir Rhetorical Questions

Both the modern lament “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” and the Anglo-Saxon lament “Lament for Boromir” use caesura and anaphora to emphasize the theme of ubi sunt, intense pain and loss. In, “Lament for Boromir”, J. R. R. Tolkien uses caesura and anaphora to emphasize the theme of ubi sunt, or the phrase ‘where are they?’ and intense pain and loss. The “Lament for Boromir” is a song sung as Boromir floats away in a boat at his funeral. A lament is a poem expressing grief usually intense and personal. Tolkien writes, “His head so proud, his face so fair, his limbs they laid to rest” (27). Therefore, this quote is an example of caesura, or a pause within a line for effect. In the lament caesura is used to emphasize the intense pain of Boromir’s

Throughout the lament many rhetorical questions are asked about “Where now is Boromir?” (14). These questions express the theme of ubi sunt, and asking a question they already know the answer to. They ask this question because they are mourning and wishing of the past where Boromir is still alive. In, the modern lament, “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables”, Kretzmer uses caesura and anaphora to emphasize the theme of ubi sunt, intense pain and loss. In, “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables”, Marius sings of the horrible deaths of all his friends during the Revolution. He is the only one left and experiencing survivors guilt. Therefore, Kretzmer uses caesura to emphasize Marius’s mourning over the devastation of his loss. Kretzmer writes, “Oh my friends, my friends, don’t ask me, what your sacrifice was for” (24-25). Another instance is the use of anaphora in the lament. Kretzmer writes, “Empty chairs at empty tables” (3), and this line is repeated three times, the number of emphasis and power. The line is repeated to emphasize what Marius is going through. All his friends are gone, every single one is dead which is why all the chairs and tables are