Poetry: What Were They Like

Question 1

What Were They Like

moths singing moonlight

Line 29

Answer 1

‘It was reported their singing/resembled the flight of moths in moonlight’
- ‘reported’ shows hypotheticalness/uncertainity around the fading nature of the Vietnamese
- ‘moths in moonlight’ - alliteration shows how beautiful yet small their culture is
- ‘moths’, ‘moonlight’ - partially illuminated

Question 2

What Were They Like

bombs mirrors

Line 25

Answer 2

’’ When bombs smashed those mirrors”
- ‘smashed’ has violent connotations, which juxtaposes the part of very idyllic llife - LNK -peaceful clouds reflected in the paddies’

Question 3

What Were They Like.

paddies

Stanza 2 Line 13

Answer 3

‘When peaceful clouds were reflected in the paddies’
- ‘reflected’ has connotations of purity, peacefulness, emphasises by clouds presenting beauty of the Vietnamese

Question 4

What Were They Like

precious mats

Line 6+7

Answer 4

‘bone and ivory,/jade and silver, for ornament?’
- expensive rich materials to portray culture as rich and vibrant
- question shows the unknowns of the Vietnamese culture showing destruction of war

Question 5

What Were They Like

progression of sound

Line 5, Line 26, Line 31

Answer 5

1. ‘inclined to quiet laughter’
2. ‘there was only time to scream’
3. ‘who can say? it is silent now’
- from quiet to loud at climax to SILENCE

Question 5

What Were They Like

hearts to stone

Line 10

Answer 5

‘their light hearts turned to stone’
- juxtaposition of light and ‘heavy’ stone shown they weant from being happy to weary
- LNK gargoyles, Medusa, USA is the monster

Question 6

What Were They Like

bitter

Stanza 2, Line 7

Answer 6

‘laughter is bitter to the burned mouth’
- ‘laughter’ - connotations of happiness
- burned mouth needs soothing but bitter is the opposite, laughter has been flipped upside down, fun has gone

Question 7

What Were They Like

light progression

Answer 7

1. ‘bone, ivory jade, silver’
2. ‘illumined’
3. ‘moths in moonlight’ - aka tiny and really small

Question 8

What Were They Like

flower imagery

Line 4-6 Stanza 2

Answer 8

‘perhaps they gathered once to delight in blossom/but after their childre were killed/there were no more buds’
- flower imagery and loss showing loss of war and children