Why poetry amid the ruins of the city? What purpose was Lamentations meant to serve? Lamentations is a recital of the horrors and atrocities of the long siege and its aftermath, and, beyond the tale of physical sufferings, an account of the spiritual significance of the fall of the city. For the ancient people chosen by the Lord the fall of Jerusalem meant the destruction of every cherished symbol of their election by God. In line after line the poet recalls all of the precious, sacred things that