1. Sir, laughter is bitter to the burned mouth.
Were they inclined to quiet laughter?
Did the people of Viet Nam
Use lanterns of stone?
Sir, their light hearts turned to stone.
It is not remembered whether in gardens
Stone lanterns illumined pleasant ways.
Did they use bone and ivory,
Jade and silver, for ornament?
It is not remembered. Remember,
Most were peasants; their life
Was in rice and bamboo.
When peaceful clouds were reflected in the paddies
And the water buffalo stepped surely along terraces,
Maybe fathers told their sons old tales.
When bombs smashed those mirrors
There was time only to scream.
Did they hold ceremonies
To reverence the opening of buds?
There is an echo yet
of their speech which was like a song.
It is reported that their singing resembled
The 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 killed
There 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 Nam
Use lanterns of stone? 7
Sir, their light hearts turned to stone.
It is not remembered whether in gardens
Stone 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 life
Was in rice and bamboo.
When peaceful clouds were reflected in the paddies
And the water buffalo stepped surely along terraces,
Maybe fathers told their sons old tales.
When bombs smashed those mirrors
There was time only to scream. 2
Did they hold ceremonies
To reverence the opening of buds? 12
There is an echo yet
of their speech which was like a song.
It is reported that their singing resembled
The 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? 8
Perhaps they gathered once to delight in blossom,
But after the children were killed
There were no more buds. 10
A dream ago, perhaps. Ornament is for joy.
All the bones were charred.

2. What do these images tell us about the poem?

3. Understand the background to What Were They Like?
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

4. What Were They Like?
Denise Levertov

5. Culture Vietnam: America:
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

6. Surface Meaning
A question and answer session about the impact of the Vietnam War on the people of Vietnam

7. What were they like? Did the people of Vietnam use lanterns of stone?
Dealing with the facts of Vietnamese life
Each question is numbered and has a numbered answer
What were they like?
Did the people of Vietnam use lanterns of stone?  
Did they hold ceremonies to reverence the opening of buds?  
Were they inclined to quiet laughter?  
Did they use bone and ivory, jade and silver, for ornament?  
Had they an epic poem?  
Did they distinguish between speech and singing?  
Reverence means celebrate
Pseudo journalistic style; cold like the reportage of the war itself

8. the lanterns illumined pleasant ways.
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 life was in rice and bamboo. When peaceful clouds were reflected in the paddies And the water buffalo stepped surely along terraces, maybe fathers told their sons old tales. When bombs smashed those mirrors there was time only to scream.  
6.There is an echo yet Of their speech which was like a song. It was reported their singing resembled the flight of moths in moonlight. Who can say? It is silent now.
Denise Levertov
The poet turns each positive to a negative
Polite, careful impersonal language
Alliteration to show seething anger
Repetition of this shows a cold clinical attitude
Rice fields
Evocative description of lifestyle and culture
The horror of war
What mirrors?
Short sentences for strong impact
A sad desolate ending
Recollected beauty shows anguish, not anger

9. 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 …”)

10. Imagery Simile: Metaphor: “their speech which was like a song”
“their singing resembled the flight of moths in moonlight”
Metaphor:
“their light hearts turned to stone”

11. Ideas: Attitudes: Feelings:
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

12. Before the War
After the War

13. Write A diary account before and after
Newspaper reports before and after
Prose work on before and after