Never Shall I Forget

The poem is in free verse, so, as the name implies, Wiesel is free to make his lines as long or short as he wants. He doesn’t have to worry about meter (the rhythmic or syllabic structure of a poem), nor does he have to rhyme. The free verse contrasts with the content of the poem, however, as Wiesel himself isn’t free. He’s trapped in Auschwitz, surrounded by death and inhumanity. The difference between the subject matter and the form and meter creates tension and highlights the sinister, “sealed” (Line 2) world inhabited by Wiesel and the other prisoners. Wiesel can express his horror however he wants, but he remains stuck in Auschwitz. There isn’t a line long or short enough to get him out of his predicament.

The free verse speaks to the absences present throughout the poem. Night, for example, symbolizes the lack of compassion and justice. The laws and boundaries that Wiesel thought governed society aren’t there. In the poem, the lines don’t have to adhere to rules or boundaries. Some lines are long and look like they could go off the screen or page, while other lines are short—as if they just received an extremely close haircut.