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Poetry from Different Cultures

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As the stories, poetry and songs of a culture are lost the people lose their identity. ... Find examples of juxtaposition in the poem (look for contrasts between the ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Poetry from Different Cultures


1
What Were They Like?
Poetry from Different Cultures
Denise Levertov
Island Man Grace Nichols
2
Slide Contents
  • Author
  • Social Historical Context
  • What is it About?
  • Structure
  • Language
  • Examination Preparation
  • Links

3
The Author
4
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.

5
Social Historical Context
6
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.

7
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    troops were withdrawn, South Vietnam surrendered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.

8
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?

9
What is it About?
10
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.

11
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.

12
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.

13
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.

14
Structure
15
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?

16
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

17
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.

18
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
19
Language
20
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

21
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.

22
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?

23
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

24
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.

25
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.

26
ExaminationPreparation
27
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.

28
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.

29
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.

30
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.
31
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

32
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?

33
Links
34
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

35
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
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