No More Hiroshimas.

No More Hiroshimas 'No More Hiroshimas' by James Kirkup is a very atypical and extensive poem dealing with the feelings that the poet has whilst exploring the city of Hiroshima, several decades after the atomic bomb was dropped there during the Second World War. It follows his progress through the city, trying to find something that will let him truly appreciate the horror of the nuclear explosion. This poem shares few conventions with most other poems. It utilises blank verse, which allows it to read as a stream of consciousness rather than a carefully structured poem, and also prevents the trivialisation of the subject matter that a rhyme scheme could introduce. The only time that a rhyming couplet is used, in stanza six, it stands out dramatically. In addition, the poem is arranged into logical stanzas, each (except for the final two stanzas) dealing with a different place that Kirkup visits on his search for a proper tribute to the dead. The poet's voice is also predominant in this piece, as he gives his personal opinions of everything that he passes. However, this is absent in the penultimate stanza, which makes it even more poignant. The first stanza begins with Kirkup's impressions of the station at Hiroshima. The dreary atmosphere is established immediately, with the imagery of the 'crudded sun' being particularly effective - this can be taken to mean not only

  • Word count: 1372
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

What were they like

What Were They Like The Poem we have studied is 'What Were They Like' which was written in the 1960's by Denise Levertov. Denise Levertov was a anti war protester, who protested about the loss of the Vietnamese culture and the cruelty of the Americans. The structure of the poem was written in questions then answers as she wanted us to think about the questions then look at the answers after. Denise Levertov emphasises about the disaster which was caused by the Americans which left the people of Vietnam devastated. In the first question Denise Levertov tries to tell us that the people of Vietnam lived a simple life "did the people of Vietnam use lantern or stones". Denise levertov tries to tell us that the people of Vietnam had hardly any money let alone electricity. Vietnam was isolated from the advanced countries such as America, United Kingdom and much more. This brings sympathy from the readers towards the people of Vietnam, as thinks makes the reader feel very saddened by what happened to all those happy villagers. In the answer 1; Denise levertov tells us that darkness came across the Vietnam "Sir, their light hearts turned to stone". Denise Levertov uses the words "Lights hearts" to tell us that the Vietnamese people were kind, calm and peaceful people. Then Levertov uses the word "Stone" to emphasise the fact that their lives came to an unexpected end. In the second

  • Word count: 2098
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

War Poetry

War Poetry Coursework Robert E. Lee said, 'It is well that war is so terrible - we would grow too fond of it.' By looking closely at some of the war poetry you have read, discuss how different poets have expressed the terrible nature of war. This is a literary essay looking at war poems. War always has a bad outcome one way or another, whether it is loss of life or a bad person taking over. In the three poems I have read, each poet describes how war is terrible in different ways, using different wars to do so. Wilfred Owen wrote about the First World War while he was in a hospital suffering from shellshock, before dying a day before the war ended. Carol Ann Duffy was writing about more modern wars such as, Belfast, Beirut and Phnom Penh. She writes it from a different view as that of a war photographer but it is still as effective. In my opinion, 'Dulce' is the most descriptive and disturbing of the three poems I read. It was written by Wilfred Owen. The first four lines show disturbing images of young soldiers, "Bent double, knock-kneed, coughing like hags, cursed through sludge." The phrase, "knock-kneed" could mean they are scared, the simile, "like old beggars", shows they are dirty, starving and have little respect. They have been degraded to the status of beggars, as disrespected as beggars. Structurally, the phrase "men marched asleep" is very important; it

  • Word count: 2162
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
Access this essay