Task 2 E learning

1. Point of View
The Speaker seems to have a negative perspective on the poem.

Evidence
This could be seen from the negative words the speaker has used to describe the situation, such as "death popourri" and "mourn".

Elaboration
The word"potpourri" is a mixture of dried, naturally fragrant plant material, used to probide a gentle natural scent in houses. Howeverm in this case, it is used with the word "death", which is a much more negative term. Hence, I feel that the speaker does seem to have an negative perspective on the situation. The word "mourn" is also a negative word which means feeling or expressing grief or sorrow. This definitely gives the entire poem a negative picture.

2. Situation and Setting
In this poem, there is an external conflict as this concerns the whole of America, not just a single person. The fundamental cause of this conflict would most probably be the "agent orange spray". However, the poem provides no resolution to the conflict.

Evidence
This could be seen from "America could not foresee" and also the last sentence of the poem - "Execrable effects of agent orange spray!"

Explanation
The last sentence clearly shows that the effects of the orange spray were execrable, which meant disastrous. Thus, it clearly was the fundamental cause of this conflict as it could cause the death of many people. We could also tell that this conflict concerns the whole of America from the first sentence of the poem, thus making the conflict an external conflict.

3. Language and Diction
I feel that the author was very successful in conveying his meaning across to the readers through his use of language. He has used a lot of imagery in his poem to warn the readers of the deadly effects of "Agent Orange Spray" and that the aftermaths of war might still linger on even though the war has ended.

Evidence
He has used words such as "execrable", "mourn", "led astray" and "WILL pay" to give the readers a sense of gloominess.

Explanation
The word "execrable" gives the readers a sense of doom as the effects would be disastrous. Words like "Mourn" gives the readers a sense of gloominess as mourn usually represents expressing one's grives and sadness. The phrase "WILL pay" with the word "will" capitalised gives the entire poem a sense of terror as the author is emphasizing the word "will." By doing so, the author is suggesting that the generations would definitely have to pay a heavy price.

4. Personal response
From this poem, i have learnt from the poet's intended message that the aftermaths of war is terrible even though a war has just ended. Wars might not be necessary over when it appears to be.