A city invaded. A people murdered and exiled. Mothers resorting to cannibalism. Not to mention the utter humiliation of your enemies joking to your face about your horrible situation.
The Poet of Lamentations devotes much of the poem to detailing the hardships the people have been through after the destruction of the city. It's pretty extreme. He wants God to understand the extent of what's going on—maybe God didn't think it would be so bad? He pleads on behalf of the suffering people, who probably had little to do with the political decisions that brought on their suffering. Lamentations shows the people a way to express their suffering to God.
Questions About Suffering
- Is there any hope in this poem that the suffering will end?
- What's the effect of all the repetition of suffering in the poem?
- Does the Poet feel that God was just in inflicting suffering on the people?