Poetry from Different Cultures

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What Were They Like?
Poetry from Different Cultures
Denise Levertov
Island Man Grace Nichols
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Slide Contents

• Author
• Social Historical Context
• What is it About?
• Structure
• Language
• Examination Preparation
• Links

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The Author
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Denise Levertov (19231997)

• Levertov was born and brought up in the UK and
  served as a nurse during the Second World War,
  experiencing the London Blitz and the effects of
  bombs on civilians. After the war she married an
  American, moved to New York and became a
  naturalized American citizen in 1956.
• In the United States she became increasingly
  involved in the protest movement against
  Americas involvement in the Vietnam War in the
  1960s and 70s.
• Levertovs work was very political and her
  beliefs are central to the poem What Were They
  Like.
• Links
• http//www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/g_l/levert
  ov/levertov.htm http//www.rooknet.com/beatpage/in
  dex.html.

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Social Historical Context
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The Vietnam War

• The Vietnam War was a conflict that was fought
  from 1957 to 1975 between North and South
  Vietnam. Vietnam had declared their independence
  from the French empire but the country was
  ideologically split between the communists in the
  North and the Anti-communists in the South.
• The North Vietnamese were supported by other
  Communist countries (the USSR and China), whereas
  South Vietnam was supported by the stoutly
  anti-communist countries USA and Australia.

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The Vietnam War

• Following an attack on an American ship the US
  sent soldiers into Vietnam to fight. However,
  many US citizens were opposed to the war and news
  images of the murder of Vietnamese civilians
  provoked global outrage. By the end of the 1960s
  hundreds of thousands of people in the USA were
  taking part in antiwar protests. In 1973 US
  troops were withdrawn, South Vietnam surrendered
  to the North, and the country became a Communist
  state. Millions of innocent Vietnamese men, women
  and children had been killed.

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Check Your Understanding

• From what you have discovered so far try to
  answer one or both of the following questions
• Why did the USA and Australia send troops to
  Vietnam? Why did hundreds of thousands of people
  protest against the war?
• 2. How does Levertovs personal experience of war
  help her to empathise with the Vietnamese?

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What is it About?
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The Brutality of War

• Denise Levertov wrote this poem during the
  Vietnam war. At the time of its publication
  America was engaged in a violent bombing campaign
  that was devastating Vietnam. Levertov feared
  that the power of the American military could
  wipe out the Vietnamese race and culture for
  ever. In the poem she imagines a future in which
  the people of Vietnam have been destroyed and no
  record or memory of their culture has survived.
  In the poem the two verses represent a dialogue
  about the lost culture of Vietnam. In the first
  verse the questioner (possibly a tourist,
  journalist or visitor to a museum) asks a series
  of questions about the culture of the Vietnamese
  people. The questioners tone is curious and
  innocent but completely oblivious of this ways of
  this vanished civilisation. In contrast the
  person answering (possibly a tour guide, military
  figure or museum curator) in verse two has a
  polite tone on the surface but their words convey
  bitterness, anger and impatience with the
  questioner.

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Speaking Listening

• Work in a pair. One of you will be the
  questioner and the other will be answering the
  questions.
• Remember
• The questioner could be a tourist, journalist or
  visitor to a museum
• The person answering may be a tour guide,
  military figure or museum curator
• Produce a short role play using the poem as a
  script. You may wish to change the order of
  questions and responses. Think about how both
  characters will speak their lines and react to
  the others responses.

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The Museum Curators Journal

• Imagine the poem is set in a museum where a
  visitor is asking a curator about the life of the
  Vietnamese.
• Task
• You are the curator answering questions about
  Vietnam. At the end of the day you reflect on the
  dialogue you had with the visitor.
• Write an entry in your journal about what
  happened. Explain what the visitor asked you,
  how you felt about their questions, the answers
  you gave and your feelings about what happened to
  the people of Vietnam.

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Themes
The poem deals with a number of themes

• The horror of War
• Images of the horrible destructive effects of the
  Vietnam war on its victims are presented
  throughout the poem.
• American Ignorance
• The questioner is representative of the ignorant
  American. His / her questions display a lack of
  knowledge about other cultures and the tone
  conveys a lack of sensitivity.
• Destruction
• The war almost brought about the destruction of
  Vietnams culture and way of life. The
  agricultural system, the environment, ancient
  customs and ceremonies were in danger of being
  lost for good because of the devastation of the
  war.
• The beauty of Vietnam before the war
• Images of a gentle way of life are presented in
  the poem. Before the war Vietnam was a beautiful
  and cultured country.
• Identity
• With the destruction of a culture comes
  destruction of identity. As the stories, poetry
  and songs of a culture are lost the people lose
  their identity. We wouldnt know what they were
  like.

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Structure
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Structure

• What is unusual about the structure of the poem?
• Why do you think the poet has used this specific
  layout?
• What is juxtaposition?
• Find examples of juxtaposition in the poem (look
  for contrasts between the simple pre-war life and
  the images of war).
• What do you notice about the sentence length in
  the final line?
• Why has Levertov used this sentence structure to
  end the poem?
• What is the effect of using a rhetorical question
  in the final line?

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Structure

• There are six questions in the poem each
  concerned with a specific area of Vietnamese
  culture. Below are the different aspects of
  Vietnamese culture but linked to the wrong
  questions. Can you place them in the correct
  order?
• religion
• art and craft
• language
• technology
• humour
• literature

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Structure

• In the second verse the questions are answered
  one by one. What happened to the six aspects of
  Vietnamese culture discussed in verse one?
• Centuries old Vietnamese technology such as
  creating lanterns of stone was destroyed during
  the napalm bombing raids.

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Questions Answers Tone
Explore the differences in the two halves of the
poem. Pick out three questions and answers and
comment on the use of tone. Some examples are
listed below. anger affection regret blame pati
ent explanation bitterness accusation sadness
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Language
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Comparisons and Contrasts

• Levertov compares two very different periods
  before and after the war. Pick out images of
  life before and after the war.

• Before the War
• Lanterns of stone

• After the War
• Hearts turned to stone

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Storyboard

• What Were They Like? is a poem of contrasts of
  life before and after the war in Vietnam. Create
  a storyboard and pick out three images of life
  before the war and three images of life after.
  Illustrate and colour your work according to the
  images in the poem.

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Language

• What tense are all the questions in? What does
  this suggest about the culture being described?
• Find examples of language that makes the
  Vietnamese culture before the war sound
  beautiful, peaceful and rich.
• The second half of the poem uses the address
  Sir. What does this suggest about the person
  asking and the person answering the questions?
• Think about the phrase the opening of buds.
  What season would you associate with this image?
  What are the buds also a reference to? What
  has happened to these things?
• Why does the poet change to the present tense in
  answer six?

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Poetic Techniques

• Match the technique with the correct definition.

• Technique Definition
• Metaphor The use of the same sound at the start
  of words
• Alliteration A figure of speech not meant
  literally
• Onomatopoeia a comparison between two different
  things, especially a phrase containing the
  word 'like' or 'as.
• Simile A word which imitates the sound it
  represents
• Repetition the act or process of saying or
  writing something again

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Poetic Techniques

• Think about the poetic techniques discussed on
  the last slide. Copy down the chart below. Find
  examples in the poem and write down the effect
  created.

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Check Understanding

• Using the notes you have made
• so far answer this question
• Explain how Denise Levertov uses language to
  show the differences between life before and
  after the war in Viet Nam.

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ExaminationPreparation
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The Examination Paper

• You will have 45 minutes to answer the question.
• You will be asked to compare two poems.
• You should begin by annotating the question for
  the key words. This will help you to understand
  what you are being asked to do.
• E.g. Compare What Were They Like? with one
  other poem, to show how the poets explore
  conflict and the cruelty of war.

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Planning

• Spend between 5 and 10 minutes making a plan.
  This will help you to order your essay logically.
• Make a note of any key ideas you are going to
  include.
• Leave at least 5 minutes at the end to read
  through your work and check for any basic errors.

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Structure

• A good answer should
• Write in paragraphs.
• Dont forget to P.E.E! Using a range of quotes
  that are properly embedded within your answer.
• Begin with an introduction and end with a
  conclusion.
• There main body of the essay should follow these
  five steps to make a good answer
• Write a bit about the theme
• Compare the structures of each poem
• Compare the use of language in each poem
• Compare the feelings of the poets
• Write about how the poems make you feel.

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Making Connections
Use a series of comparisons, using connectives to
link ideas, both within paragraphs and between
paragraphs.

• Similarity Connectives
• Equally
• In the same way
• Similarly
• Likewise
• Just asalso

• Contrast Connectives
• In contrast
• However
• Whereas (best used in the middle of a sentence)
• On the other hand

Refer back to the question repeating the key
words from it.
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Analysis

• Use the following words to link your Point -gt
  Evidence -gt Explain sentences. The use of these
  words will also help to ensure that your response
  is analytical.
• suggests
• implies
• gives the impression that
• shows
• highlights
• indicates
• To make the same point using a different
  example, try one of these
• furthers
• emphasises
• reinforces

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Recap

• When you are comparing poems you will be asked to
  look for the similarities and the differences.
• You should comment on the language they use.
  What poetic devices are present? Imagery,
  similes, metaphors, alliteration, onomatopoeia,
  personification, rhyme etc. What effect do they
  have on the reader?
• You will need to comment on the structure of the
  poems. How are they set out? Does this add to
  their overall effect/meaning?
• Consider the tone of the poems. What mood has
  the author created?

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Links
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Useful Stuff

• What Were They Like? short films
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vVgDwyjes5iE
• WARNING
• Please preview this before showing to your class
  as it contains graphic and distressing images of
  victims of war.
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vPK2Vo6PR5ckfeature
  related
• BBC Bitesize Poems From Other Cultures
• http//www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english/
  poemscult/index.shtml

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More Useful Stuff

• Annotated PPT version of What Were They Like?
  http//web.wheelerslane.bham.sch.uk/files/What20W
  ere20They20Like.ppt
• What Were They Like? pupil revision podcast to
  download
• http//www.podcastrevision.co.uk/Language.html