What Were They Like?

By Denise Levertov (1923–1997)

Context

• Denise Levertov wrote "What Were They Like?" in 1966, during the Vietnam War, a conflict that saw the United States involved in Vietnam's affairs from 1955 to 1973. The poem reflects Levertov's strong anti-war stance and her opposition to the devastating impact of the war on the Vietnamese people. The poem is set in the future, imagining a world where the Vietnamese culture has been obliterated by war, and the memories of their way of life are fading. The questions in the poem reveal the richness of Vietnamese culture before the war, while the answers reflect the destruction and loss caused by the conflict. The poem serves as a powerful reminder of the human cost of war and the importance of remembering those who have suffered.

The Poem

Did the people of Viet Nam

use lanterns of stone?

Did they hold ceremonies

to reverence the opening of buds?

Were they inclined to quiet laughter?

Did they use bone and ivory,

jade and silver, for ornament?

Had they an epic poem?

Did they distinguish between speech and singing?

Sir, their light hearts turned to stone.

← Metaphor

It is not remembered whether in gardens

stone lanterns illumined pleasant ways.

Perhaps they gathered once to delight in blossom,

but after their children were killed

there were no more buds.

← Metaphor

Sir, laughter is bitter to the burned mouth.

← Alliteration and metaphor

A dream ago, perhaps. Ornament is for joy.

All the bones were charred.

← Imagery

It is not remembered. Remember,

most were peasants; their life

was in rice and bamboo.

When peaceful clouds were reflected in the paddies

and the water buffalo stepped surely along terraces,

maybe fathers told their sons old tales.

When bombs smashed those mirrors

there was time only to scream.

There is an echo yet

of their speech which was like a song.

It was reported their singing resembled

the flight of moths in moonlight.

Who can say? It is silent now.

← Symbolism and contrast

5 Quotes + Analysis to Achieve a Grade 9

1. Language device = Metaphor. "Their light hearts turned to stone." Analysis: This metaphor shows how the war has hardened the Vietnamese people, transforming their once gentle and joyful spirits into something cold and unfeeling. The contrast between "light hearts" and "stone" highlights the loss of innocence and the emotional damage inflicted by the conflict.

2. Language device = Metaphor. "There were no more buds." Analysis: The "buds" here symbolise new life and growth. and the future—particularly the lives of children. The metaphor "no more buds" represents the loss of new life, particularly the loss of children. It suggests that the war has destroyed not only the current generation but also the future of the Vietnamese people. This powerful image underscores the devastating impact of war on a society.

3. Language device = Alliteration and metaphor. "Laughter is bitter to the burned mouth." Analysis: The repetition of the "b" sound in "bitter to the burned" draws attention to the harshness and pain experienced by the Vietnamese people, reinforcing the intensity of their suffering. The repetition of the "b" sound in "bitter to the burned" draws attention to the harshness and pain experienced by the Vietnamese people, reinforcing the intensity of their suffering.

4. Language device = Imagery. "All the bones were charred." Analysis: The phrase "charred bones" creates a vivid and gruesome image of the aftermath of war, emphasising the physical destruction and violence. Bones, which once symbolised life and strength, are now reduced to ashes, reflecting the death of both the people and their culture due to conflict

5. Language device = Symbolism and contrast "It is silent now." Analysis: The final line of the poem, "It is silent now," leaves a lasting impression of emptiness and loss. The silence symbolises the complete destruction and erasure of a culture and its people and represents the absence of life and voices. This definitive statement contrasts with the earlier uncertainties in the poem, highlighting the finality of the destruction.

Form

• Question and Answer Structure:
  • The poem is divided into two stanzas, with the first stanza consisting of questions and the second providing answers. This structure reflects the inquisitive nature of someone trying to piece together a lost culture, while the answers reveal the tragic reality of what has been destroyed.
• Free Verse:
  • The poem is written in free verse, without a consistent rhyme scheme or metre. This lack of structure mirrors the chaotic and unpredictable nature of war and its aftermath.

Structure

• End-Stopped Line:
  • The line "Sir, their light hearts turned to stone" is end-stopped, allowing the reader to pause and reflect on the impact of the war on the Vietnamese people. This deliberate pause emphasises the weight of the transformation from innocence to hardness.
• Repetition:
  • The phrase "It is not remembered" is repeated twice, underscoring the idea that the war has wiped out the memory of the Vietnamese culture. This repetition drives home the tragedy of cultural erasure.
• Juxtaposition:
  • The peaceful scene of fathers telling "old tales" to their sons is starkly contrasted with the later image of "time only to scream" after the bombs fell. This juxtaposition highlights the sharp and devastating shift from peace to violence caused by the war.

Example Paragraph for a Grade 9 Answer:

In "What Were They Like?" Levertov presents the impact of war as deeply destructive, both physically and culturally. The metaphor "Their light hearts turned to stone" reflects how the war hardened the Vietnamese people, stripping away their innocence and joy. The phrase "There were no more buds" symbolises the loss of life, particularly the loss of children, showing how the war has eradicated the future of a nation. The final line, "It is silent now," conveys the complete erasure of Vietnamese culture, leaving behind only silence and memory. Through these powerful images, Levertov highlights the devastating and lasting consequences of war.