Children in the Darkness Analysis

Children in the Darkness Analysis

Analysis Point Evidence Explanation Point of View The poet is probably a soldier fighting in the war. It is "Who have not seen the light" and "From this life He states that the children "have not seen the light", evident in the poem that he felt sorry for the childrenthey cannot flee" which suggests that many children are still in hiding, in left helpless and even parentless by the war. the darkness, helpless and weak. He says that they cannot run away from the war and live a normal childhood, thus feeling sorry for them. Situation and These children are living in wartime, thus they have to "Who someone will teach to fight" Someone has to teach the children to fight and defend Setting be prepared to live independently and defend' themselves, because their childhood has been taken themselves. away prematurely because of the war. Language/ Repetition (stanza 1) "There are children in the Darkness" This provides emphasis on the plight of the poor Diction children in the war, causing us to sympathise with them. Language/ Rhyme (stanza 2) "flee" and "free" The rhyme creates the effect of a hopeless situation for Diction the children in the war; they cannot hope to escape war and are "prisoners" literally. Language/ Repetition (stanza 3) "could we" The repetition here suggests that there might be hope Diction and solutions for the children's plights and sorrows. Language/ Rhyme (stanza 4) "soul' and "hole" The stanza shows suffering and death, thus the Diction repetition emphasizes the children's problems and sufferings. Language/ Rhyme (stanza 5) "flight" and "light" The poem ends with a sad tone as the repetition in the Diction last stanza shows that there really might not be any hope left for the poor children living in the war. Personal Disturbed "children in the darkness" I personally feel disturbed after reading the poem as Response constant repetition and emphasis on "darkness" shows that war life was bleak and the children felt very hopeless as war claimed their childhood and there was little chance of survival through the war.

Children in the Darkness

Here's a great poem by Henry Bechtold.

Children in the Darkness

There are children in the darkness Who have not seen the light There are children in the darkness Who someone will teach to fight Chalk and blackboards will not be To this door there is no key From this life they can not flee And these children are not free Could we simply light a candle Could we give them half a chance Could we teach them how to read Could we teach them how to dance Or will a war consume them Their body and their soul Will their life and blood be poured Down some endless thirsty hole Back into the darkness From which there is no flight Back into the darkness Into which there shines no light by Henry M Bechtold Henry M Bechtold was in Vietnam during 1967 - 1969. He often visited Vietnam as his soul was in Vietnam. He was sitting in his hotel room in Saigon just before Christmas 2009 and he was trying to write a poem about the girls who work in the park and how badly men treated them. He was angry but was unable to write anything that did not sound trite or weak. Looking at the television, he did not know what the news reader was saying but in the background there was a photo of a small boy wearing a helmet and holding an automatic rifle. This poem flowed out. The words just came to him and he typed as fast as he could to get it all down. The poem talks about helpless children living in the war, where their childhood is taken away from them and they have to become premature "adults", learning to defend themselves and live independently instead of leading a normal, joyful childhood. Sit back and enjoy the poem.