Task 2
Complete the template provided below (Annex A), focusing on (1) Point of View; (2) Situation and Setting; (3) Language/Diction; and (4) Personal Response, and post your response to Task 2 on your blog. This template is based on John Lye’s ‘Critical Analysis of Poetry’, and you can make reference to this in Annex B when in doubt.
Rainbow Death
Hubert Wilson
Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!
Expecting others to pay a high price.
Now thinking twice?
Toll on the innocent and unborn.
Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn.
Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.
All the deceit continues to spread.
Nefariously
Generations untold WILL pay -
Execrable effects of agent orange spray!
1. Point of View
I feel that the poem is written from the point of view of someone who has suffered the devastating effects of coming into contact with Agent Orange. This is evident from how the poet states "Execrable effects of agent orange spray!" to end off his poem. The poet also very clearly describes the side effects of Agent Orange, and states that "America did not foresee" the harmful side effects of Agent Orange. This suggests that he is probably a soldier and fought in the Vietnam War, and had most probably first handedly witnessed the effects of Agent Orange.
2. Situation and Setting
The poem is set after Agent Orange was used. It might have been set several years after the Vietnam war, when not only the immediate effects but the long term effects of Agent Orange were witnessed. The harmful long term effects of Agent Orange are witnessed on the future generations of the Vietnamese like "birth defects" and even "prematurely dead". It could also probably be that "America did not foresee" these effects on the Vietnamese children and tried to hide the facts and truth from other people, as seen from "All the deceit continues to spread", which most likely implies that America had been hiding the truth about the side effects of Agent Orange from the public, and this was still ongoing at the time when the poet was still writing the poem.
3. Language/ Diction
The title of the poem "Rainbow death" is rather ironic. When we see the word "rainbow", we normally think of rich and vibrant colours or have positive thoughts. However, this is contrasted by "death", something negative and ominous. I also feel that the word "Rainbow" is a reference to the rainbow herbicides, which killed and harmed many millions of people. Maybe the poet chose such an oxymoron to be the title for the poem because he wanted the readers to see a contrast between the aims of the Americans in using Agent Orange and the effect of using Agent Orange. The poet also uses the word "potpourri" to symbolise the different mixture of herbicides used in the war, like Agent green, Agent pink, Agent purple. There is also alliteration in the poem, as seen from "thinking twice?", the letter "t" starting in both words. The "t" sound is a harsh tone which probably shows the poet is mocking America for using Agent Orange.
4. Personal Response
This poem leaves the readers rather disturbed, as the poet keeps putting in images of death and disaster throughout his poem. Phrases and words like "Rainbow Death", "Toll on the innocent and unborn", Generations untold WILL pay", conjure images of imminent deaths and disasters. The poet also questions America mockingly with "thinking twice?" and sympathises with the Vietnamese. The readers have to have at least some prior knowledge on the Vietnamese war before being able to understand the poem.
