“It is Dangerous To Read Newspapers” by Margaret Atwood
Duality is a key concept in many of Margaret Atwood’s works. “It Is Dangerous To Read Newspapers” comes with no surprise when the juxtaposition of time eras are presented. The poem addresses the atrocities of the Vietnam War that occurred from 1959-1975. The work is focused on the adult perception of the war by the speaker. The 9 stanzas that structure the poem are a continuous construction of the horror elements creating an overall image of the war and the inability of the speaker to participate in it, in any shape or form. Atwood uses the juxtaposition of childhood and adulthood, furthermore she uses diction connoting violence and destruction to convey the powerlessness of humans over a situation that was caused by them.