Sir, laughter is bitter to the burned mouth.

Were they inclined to quiet laughter?

Did the people of Viet NamUse lanterns of stone?

Sir, their light hearts turned to stone.It is not remembered whether in gardensStone lanterns illumined pleasant ways.

Did they use bone and ivory,Jade and silver, for ornament?

It is not remembered. Remember,Most were peasants; their lifeWas in rice and bamboo.When peaceful clouds were reflected in the paddiesAnd the water buffalo stepped surely along terraces,Maybe fathers told their sons old tales.When bombs smashed those mirrorsThere was time only to scream.

Did they hold ceremoniesTo reverence the opening of buds?

There is an echo yetof their speech which was like a song.It is reported that their singing resembledThe flight of moths in the moonlight.Who can say? It is silent now.

Did they distinguish between speech and singing?

Had they an epic poem?

Perhaps they gathered once to delight in blossom,But after the children were killedThere were no more buds.

A dream ago, perhaps. Ornament is for joy.All the bones were charred.

9 Sir, laughter is bitter to the burned mouth.

3 Were they inclined to quiet laughter?

1 Did the people of Viet NamUse lanterns of stone?

7Sir, their light hearts turned to stone.It is not remembered whether in gardensStone lanterns illumined pleasant ways.

4 Did they use bone and ivory,Jade and silver, for ornament?

11

It is not remembered. Remember,Most were peasants; their lifeWas in rice and bamboo.When peaceful clouds were reflected in the paddiesAnd the water buffalo stepped surely along terraces,Maybe fathers told their sons old tales.When bombs smashed those mirrorsThere was time only to scream.

2 Did they hold ceremoniesTo reverence the opening of buds?

12

There is an echo yetof their speech which was like a song.It is reported that their singing resembledThe flight of moths in the moonlight.Who can say? It is silent now.

6 Did they distinguish between speech and singing?

5 Had they an epic poem?

8Perhaps they gathered once to delight in blossom,But after the children were killedThere were no more buds.

10 A dream ago, perhaps. Ornament is for joy.All the bones were charred.

What do these images tell us about the poem?

Objectives

By the end of today’s lesson you will be able to:

•Understand the background to What Were They Like?

•Understand the issues that What Were They Like? explores

What Were They Like?Denise Levertov

Culture•Vietnam:

– South East Asian country ravaged by war in the 1960’s and 70’s with America•Poor, predominately agriculture based economy

•America:•Rich, powerful Western nation•Thought of as peace-keepers in world politics by intervening where they feel it is appropriate

Surface Meaning

•A question and answer session about the impact of the Vietnam War on the people of Vietnam

What were they like?

1. Did the people of Vietnamuse lanterns of stone?  

2. Did they hold ceremoniesto reverence the opening of buds?  

3. Were they inclined to quiet laughter?  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?  

Each question is numbered and has a numbered answer

Reverence means celebrate

Pseudo journalistic style;

cold like the reportage of the

war itself

Dealing with the facts of

Vietnamese life

 1. Sir, their light hearts turned to stone.

It is not remembered whether in gardens the lanterns illumined pleasant ways.  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.  4. A dream ago, perhaps. Ornament is for joy.

All the bones were charred.  5. It is not remembered. Remember,

most were peasants; their lifewas in rice and bamboo.When peaceful clouds were reflected in the paddiesAnd the water buffalo stepped surely along terraces, maybe fathers told their sons old tales.When bombs smashed those mirrorsthere was time only to scream.  

6.There is an echo yetOf their speech which was like a song. It was reported their singing resembledthe flight of moths in moonlight.Who can say? It is silent now.

 Denise Levertov

Polite, careful

impersonal language

The poet turns each positive to a negative

Alliteration to show

seething anger

Evocative description of lifestyle and culture

Rice fields

The horror of war

What mirrors?

A sad desolate ending

Short sentences for strong

impact

Repetition of this shows a cold clinical

attitude

Recollected beauty shows anguish, not anger

Structure• 2 stanzas

– 1st stanza = questions– 2nd stanza = answers

• Can be read normally from line 1 to the end or by following the numbers to link each questions with its relevant answer

• Sounds like conversation between everyday person (American) and a polite anti-war protestor (“Sir …”)

Imagery•Simile:

–“their speech which was like a song”

–“their singing resembled the flight of moths in moonlight”

•Metaphor:–“their light hearts turned to stone”

• Ideas:– Everything has changed for the Vietnamese

people after the war (beauty and peace turned to sadness, grief and destruction)

• Attitudes:– The peaceful simple lives of the Vietnamese

people was shattered by the horror of war that the Americans brought with them

– Anti-war, pro peace– Anti-American (despite poet being American)

• Feelings:– No direct anger or recrimination towards

Americans, but sense of sorrow and loss due to the horror of war and its impact

– Sadness– Loss– “Matter of fact” style– Contempt for war

Before the War After the War

Write•A diary account before and after

•Newspaper reports before and after

•Prose work on before and after