Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- Do we ever get a sense of who is speaking? What are they concerned with? What knowledge do they seem to have?
- How does Levertov use flowers as symbols? How about mirrors? What other instances of figurative language appear in the poem?
- How do enjambment and end-stops affect the way the poem is read?
- Considering when it was written, is the poem making a political statement? If so, how? What is it?
- How are the people of Vietnam depicted in the poem? Is this a stereotypical depiction? How? Did Levertov portray them this way for a reason?
- Is the poem a warning, a lament, or something else? What is it, and why?