Different Cultures Poetry

1. Different Cultures Poetry

2. The Poems • This Powerpoint will not teach you the poems – that has already been done and you should know them now. • This presentation is to show you some of the things to which you have not given enough – or any – consideration. • Your grade is at stake! At the core of this essay, you must compare and contrast the uses of poetic devices, their purposes and impacts, in: War Photograph by Daniels War Photographer by Duffy and if you can make at least occasional links to What were they like? by Levertov, then that can only help push up your grade.

3. Assessment You are being marked for LITERATURE only. Use the marking scheme to guide you in the writing of the essay, like a check list. If your essay doesn’t have all the points, we can’t give you all the grades! And please make reference to NICK UT, the Vietnamese photographer who took ‘the photograph’.

4. Aims A naked child is running along the path toward us, her arms stretched out, her mouth open, the world turned to trash behind her. She is running from the smoke and the soldiers, from the bodies of her mother and little sister thrown down into a ditch, from the blown-up bamboo hut from the melted pots and pans. And she is also running from the gods who have changed the sky to fire and puddled the earth with skin and blood. She is running--my god--to us, 10,000 miles away, reading the caption beneath her picture in a weekly magazine. All over the country we're feeling sorry for her and being appalled at the war being fought in the other world. She keeps on running, you know, after the shutter of the camera clicks. She's running to us. For how can she know, her feet beating a path on another continent? How can she know what we really are? From the distance, we look so terribly human. Form (shape, outward appearance) in War Photograph You must emphasize how the poets show perspectives and the power of the photo in their poems through their crafting of: Form Structure Language The poets craft their work deliberately for an desired impact; nothing is by chance. You must comment on the impact as you see it – it may not be quite what they had in mind, and that’s allowed!

5. Structure A naked child is running along the path toward us, her arms stretched out, her mouth open, the world turned to trash behind her. She is running from the smoke and the soldiers, from the bodies of her mother and little sister thrown down into a ditch, from the blown-up bamboo hut from the melted pots and pans. And she is also running from the gods who have changed the sky to fire and puddled the earth with skin and blood. She is running--my god--to us, 10,000 miles away, reading the caption beneath her picture in a weekly magazine. All over the country we're feeling sorry for her and being appalled at the war being fought in the other world. She keeps on running, you know, after the shutter of the camera clicks. She's running to us. For how can she know, her feet beating a path on another continent? How can she know what we really are? From the distance, we look so terribly human. Read the text in the following ‘colour chunks’ I’ve devised. What does the writing in each colour tell you about: The power of the photograph? The perspectives involved in the poem? The number of time schemes in the poem? What is Daniels trying to achieve by writing in these sections? What happens if the order is re-arranged?

6. Structure All over the country we're feeling sorry for her and being appalled at the war being fought in the other world. A naked child is running along the path toward us, her arms stretched out, her mouth open, the world turned to trash behind her. She's running to us. For how can she know, her feet beating a path on another continent? How can she know what we really are? She is running--my god--to us, 10,000 miles away, reading the caption beneath her picture in a weekly magazine. And she is also running from the gods who have changed the sky to fire and puddled the earth with skin and blood. From the distance, we look so terribly human. She is running from the smoke and the soldiers, from the bodies of her mother and little sister thrown down into a ditch, from the blown-up bamboo hut from the melted pots and pans. She keeps on running, you know, after the shutter of the camera clicks. This is an example of the order re-arranged. When is ‘now’ in this version? What happens to the sense? What happens to the climax? Where is the moral now? Who is the emphasis now on? How has the power of the photograph now been emphasized? And how have the different perspectives changed?

7. Language A naked child is running along the path toward us, her arms stretched out, her mouth open, the world turnedto trash behind her. She is running from the smoke and the soldiers, from the bodies of her mother and little sister thrown down into a ditch, from the blown-up bamboo hut from the melted pots and pans. And she is also running from the gods who have changed the sky to fire and puddled the earth with skin and blood. She is running--my god--to us, 10,000 miles away, reading the caption beneath her picture in a weekly magazine. All over the country we're feeling sorry for her and being appalled at the war being fought in the other world. She keeps on running, you know, after the shutter of the camera clicks. She's running to us. For how can she know, her feet beating a path on another continent? How can she know what we really are? From the distance, we look so terribly human. You need to be sensitive to the deliberate use of language in the poems. Look at the use, for example, of verbs. What ‘type’ are they? Which are repeated? Why? Consequently, what impact do they have on you? What do you think Daniels wanted to achieve? You should do this for all your poems; compare their uses. And consider more than just verbs!

8. Remember to compare and contrast War Photograph A naked child is running along a path toward us, her arms stretched out, her mouth open, the world turned to trash behind her. War Photographer In his darkroom he is finally alone With spools of suffering set outin ordered rows. The only light is red and softly glows, as though this were a church and he A priest preparing to intone a Mass. What Were They Like? Did the people of Viet Nam use lanterns of stone? Did they hold ceremonies to reverence the opening of buds? …

9. Useful Links and Bibliography • http://www.canadianidentity.com/wiki/index.php/Kim_Phuc about the life of Nick Ut, and his award winning photo of ‘the girl.’ • http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Daniels_Kate_1953- on Daniels • An excellent Powerpoint on the Levertov poem that will give you all the information you’ll need, plus social-historical information! www.riponcollege.co.uk/Content/1_documents/eng%20revision%20materials /What%20Were%20They%20Like.ppt • http://www.teachit.co.uk/attachments/1578.pdf for a simple help sheet on the Levertov poem • Remember that Duffy is now the Poet Laureate and you’ve seen her at “Poetry Live!” http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/may/01/carol-ann-duffy-poet-laureate1 Your essay must include some appropriate, blended and selective use of social-historical information to place the image, and the photo, in context. You should use such information in your essay to discuss the philosophical and political significance of the poems. DO NOT just cut and paste; you must consider and apply your chosen information.