Poems after War:2 What Were They Like? Denise Levertov

ABOUT THE POET Denise Levertov (1923–1997) was born and brought up in the UK. Her work was often intensely political: a feminist and peace activist, she campaigned against nuclear weapons and the Vietnam War. She even spent time in jail after protesting against the war.

CONTENT The poem was written in 1971 as a protest against the Vietnam War. It is a series of questions and answers about the Vietnamese war. The poet imagines a future in which the Vietnamese people have been wiped out and there is no memory of their culture.

THE VIETNAM WAR The Vietnam war lasted from 1954 until It was originally a civil war between the communist North and the capitalist South. Despite it being a civil war (a war between people in Vietnam) America became involved and supported the South.

THE VIETNAM WAR In 1973 President Nixon withdrew the US forces, in 1975 the armies of North Vietnam were victorious, and the country was reunited the following year. It was protests like that in the poem that changed US public opinion.

Famous Image from the Vietnam War Here is one of the most famous images from the Vietnam War. It shows a burned child running from a bombed village. The picture shocked the world. The type of gas used in the bomb was called napalm and its effects are referred to in the poem.

The title of the poem begins with a RHETORICAL QUESTION instantly engaging the reader. What Were They Like?

What Were They Like? Did the people of Viet Nam use lanterns of stone? The country of Vietnam is split into 2 words showing the ignorance of foreigners. The first stanza is a series of 6 rhetorical questions. Did the people of Viet Nam use lanterns of stone? 2) Did they hold ceremonies to open the reverence of buds? 3) Were they inclined to quiet laughter? The speaker wants to know more about the people’s lifestyle. The questions are written in the past tense. He asks whether they were cheerful people.

What Were They Like? 4) Did they use bone and ivory, jade and silver, for ornament? 5) Had they an epic poem? 6) Did they distinguish between speech and singing? He questions whether they were simple people who lived a dignified and humble life. Perhaps the 6 questions are being posed by a cultural historian or a war correspondent.

Here we have the responses to the 6 questions. What Were They Like? The formal word ‘Sir’ suggests that the person answering is being respectful. Perhaps a soldier is the one being questioned A metaphor suggesting that all the happiness of the people had disappeared because of the war. ‘Stone’ suggests the opposite of ‘light.’ 1) Sir, their light hearts turned to stone. It is not remembered whether in gardens S stone lanterns illuminated pleasant ways. Here we have the responses to the 6 questions.

This adverb expresses uncertainty What Were They Like? This adverb expresses uncertainty 2) Perhaps they gathered once to delight in blossom, but after the children were killed there were no more buds. 3) Sir, laughter is bitter to the burned mouth. Metaphor - A generation was destroyed and there are no more new births. Repetition Alliteration – to emphasise the violent image of the people who had their mouths burned by the napalm bombs.

What Were They Like? 4) A dream ago, perhaps. Ornament is for joy. All the bones were charred. It is not remembered. Remember, most were peasants; their life was in rice and bamboo. Repetition of uncertainty. People’s bones were burnt by the bombs. Highlighting that they were people who had a simple way of life.

What Were They Like? When peaceful clouds were reflected in the paddies and the water buffalo stepped surely along the terraces, maybe fathers told their sons old tales. when bombs smashed those mirrors there was only time to scream. Fields Alliteration to emphasise the stable and simple lifestyle. Violent language shows how war destroyed their simple life.

What Were They Like? 6) There is an echo yet of their speech which was like a song. . Another word to suggest that the culture is not what it was. Sibilance – stresses the positive features of Vietnam.

The answers are hopelessly vague. What Were They Like? The answers are hopelessly vague. It was reported that their singing resembled the flight of moths in moonlight. Who can say? It is silent now. Alliteration There are no answers because the Vietnamese cannot speak for themselves. A dramatic ending. This can be taken literally that the people are silent as they are mourning their loved ones or figuratively to suggest that the silence is because of the number of deaths.

What impressions of the Vietnamese people are given by these words? What Were They Like? What impressions of the Vietnamese people are given by these words? Lanterns Ceremonies Buds Laughter Ornament Poem Singing * What is implied by the asking of all the questions in the past tense?*

POETIC TECHNIQUES Rhetorical questions – in the first stanza and are answered in the second stanza. Rhetorical questions instantly engage the reader.

POETIC TECHNIQUES Alliteration - with the soft ‘m’ sound, ‘moths in the moonlight’ emphasise the peace and quiet of the country before the war. ‘bitter to the burned mouth’ illustrates the violence of napalm bombs.

POETIC TECHNIQUES Juxtaposition and contrast are used effectively in the poem to stress what the country was like before and after the war.

THEMES The atrocities of war and how people’s lives can be destroyed by war. Celebration of another culture – before war it is suggested that Vietnam was beautiful and the people were happy.

STRUCTURE The poem consists of 2 stanzas. A series of 6 straightforward questions which cover different aspects of Vietnamese culture: technology, religion, clothing, art and language.

STRUCTURE The second stanza is a response to the 6 questions, the answers are of varying lengths and some are more developed than others.

More Information About ‘What Were They Like?’ http://www.podcastrevision.co.uk/Languag e.html http://www.teachit.co.uk/armoore/ http://www.swotrevision.com/

QUESTION Compare the methods Denise Levertov uses to present the effects of war in ‘What Were They Like?’ with the methods used in ‘The Survivor’.

Sources www.schoolportal.co.uk%2Fresource%2F2881769%2FWhat%2BWere%2BThey%2BLike.ppt&ei=I_s3UpvcHoiJ7AbDt4CgDA&usg=AFQjCNF7OGPVR5t6i-4lssx1V6SG7F4IvA&bvm=bv.52164340,d.bGE