poem analysis

Children in the darkness


(1) Point of View
The point of view is from a third persons perspective. He is adopting a point of view where he who is an outsider is showing his feelings and pity for the innocent children and hence tries to show the contrast between the way children are living there and the right way children should live to evoke feelings in the readers to know that war is bad.

(2) Situation and Setting
The situation here is that a military conflict between the communist forces and anti-communist forces in Vietnam at this point in time. This cause the country to be in a very chaotic and devastating state with the children lives ruined by poverty and war plunging them into the darkness.

(3) Language/Diction
The language involves some rhyming. He also use metaphors to give a very negative and sad feelings about war and require a level of understanding and interpretation.

(4) Personal Response
I feel sad for the children in the war as they are innocent and yet have to go through the pains of war due to some childish actions of the adults are their childish decision to solve conflict by fighting instead of negotiating. Hence their childhoods have been robbed and they must suffer unlike other children in other parts of the world who enjoys peace and good education and a good standard of living. This feeling in me was evoked due to the language of the poet who was successful in doing so. Hence this is a good poem.