Diameter of A Bomb by Yehuda Amichai

The Diameter of the Bomb Analysis

Yehuda Amichai’s first experience with war was at the age of twelve, when his Jewish family escaped the Nazi Holocaust. He served in the British army during World War II before fighting against Britain in guerilla warfare prior to the establishment of Israel. He also served in the Israeli army many times during Arab-Israeli struggles. His attitude towards war due to extensive involvement in various conflicts is clearly evident in the poem Diameter of the Bomb.

Diameter of the Bomb, written by Yehuda Amichai, is a poem that explores the impact of war by observing the ever-growing effect death has humanity. 

The poem begins clinically as Amichai recites the characteristics of the bomb as being mechanical and deprived of emotion, seen in the lines “the diameter of the bomb was thirty centimeters/ and the diameter of its effective range about seven meters/ with four dead and eleven wounded.” The bomb is represented as holding limited capacity for damage, and therefore ineffective, as the fatalities that result are fairly insignificant when compared to the total fatalities in a war.  

The harsh, technical facts however, are suddenly replaced by descriptions of the raw, emotional loss of a man and the cries of orphans that result from the explosion- “and the solitary man mourning her death… the crying of orphans”. These representations of the effect the death has on the loved ones evoke strong feelings of sympathy within the reader. Amichai’s casual, detached tone, seen in “and I won’t even mention”, intensifies these horrifying representations further.

Through the symbolism of the circle and the use of lines such as “at a distance of more than a hundred kilometers”, the representation of the extensive impact of the bomb is revealed. The descriptions of the bomb’s vastness creates simplistic, yet effective imagery of a circle that continues to expand, eventually consuming the entire world and beyond to the “throne of God”. By implying that the result of war is so large and devastating, the reader is encouraged to consider if war is really worth such pain and loss. 

Eventually, Amichai concludes that the impact of the bomb is so large that the “circle [is] with no end and no God.” Here, the representation of the impact of the bomb is so vast that he questions the existence of God in a world where such terrorism exists. The dispassionate view of the physical aspects of the bomb is jarringly contrasted with the deeply emotional and spiritual effects on the world. This juxtaposition of views highlights Amichai’s mission to reveal the futility of war.

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