Monday, May 24, 2010

This poem is based on the Afghanistan War,in which the war was initiated by then-President George Bush in 2001,and U.S. forces attacked Afghanistan in order to flash out Osama bin Laden,who was responsible for the 9/11 attacks.The Taliban regime in Afghanistan also hid Osama bin Laden,and the U.S. also wanted to destroy it.

Further information that this relates to the Afghanistan War is the mention of the "Hindu Kush" (Line 20) in the poem,which is a mountain range that stretches between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The poet,Steve Carlsen was born and lives in Dowagiac Michigan. He joined the United States Army in October 2000 and went to Infantry Basic Training, and Airborne School in Ft. Benning Georgia. He then reported to D Company 1st battalion 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. 82nd Airborne Division in Ft. Bragg North Carolina. He deployed to Kosovo in November 2001 as part of peace keeping operations. He Deployed to Afghanistan in of December 2002 where he participated in combat operations. He was honorably discharged from the Army in 2003. He currently attends Southwestern Michigan College wher his professor, Dr Michael Collins challenged him to write about his experiences.

Further proof that this poem is based on the Afghanistan War.

Without further ado,I will proceed with the Analysis.

1.POV
The point of view appears to be from the poet himself,describing the terror that was occurring in the place around him,and him receiving orders from his officers.He seems to be directly in the war,stated by the much imagery used in the poem.

His tone present in the poem seems to be a voice of a hysterical soldier in war,afraid that they will die early,and afraid that their comrades will die early.The voice is rather reliable in that although hysterical,it seems to describe the situation in the poem perfectly.The voice wants to draw the reader into the same hysterics,hoping that they can understand that war is not a great thing.

2.Situation
The situation is during the Afghanistan War,in which the poet is currently participating in.As the poem is based on his experiences,it is probably true to some sense,and seems to depict the terror he felt during the war.There is a conflict here,in which the poet is an U.S. soldier,and he is fighting during the Afghanistan
War.

The situation,the Afghanistan War,draws attention from the reader.The Afghanistan war has lasted from 2001 and is still going strong,and many people have heard of it.The setting it is set in appears to be the Hindu Kush,in which there is a firefight going on right now.The situation and setting draws attention as the Hindu Kush,a mountain ranger,is supposedly very beautiful.However,the ugly faces of war are showing up here.This seems to depict that no matter how beautiful a person or thing may be,if they get tainted by war,they will have lost themselves.The atmosphere in the poem seems to plunge you right into a firefight,with diction like "lead rain" and "baptized by fire" showing the dire situation they are in.As the situation progresses,the author gets more and more pessimistic.

3.Meaning
The meaning of the poem is to translate the terror that he had felt during the war into words.The message in the poem seems to be telling us that war is a really terrible thing.It seems to describe that the moment you take part in war,all that you really was would be stripped away,and you would be what you be,a soldier,there only to kill or be killed.It seems to be trying to tell us that war is not glorious at all!

The theme in the poem is explicitly comveyed - war is not a good thing.Through the poet's choice of words and the style he is writing in,he seems to be writing straight from the scene,and tries to drag you in,and wants you to know that war is not as good and fun as some people think.The poem seems to state that all war is not good,and there is never a need for war,whether for God or for themselves.

4.Form & Structure
The poem is in a very structured verse with a simple rhyming scheme,which is AABB.The rhythm of the poem seems to get more hysterical and quicker towards the end of the poem,trying to emulate the feelings the poet felt at war.There's also a lot of commas in the poems,indicating the pauses.

Using the structure effectively,although the word length does not significantly increase or decrease,the reading speed will be greatly affected by the diction and structure in the poem,which allows the readers to really feel what the pot felt at war.The repetition at the end of the poem seems to conjoin with the poet's hysterics,allowing the reader to be drawn further into the poem.

5.Language
The language used in the poem is mainly used to describe the terror happening then,and it seems to be that the poet was right in the thick of it,and the feelings are emanating from him.As such,the reader is forced right into the action.For example,"lead rain" describes bullets flying around the battlefield,and the poet can do nothing to stop it."washed in blood,baptized by fire" seem to draw attention to the dead soldiers that have sacrificed their life,almost as if for nothing."And when I get to heaven to Saint Peter I will tell,Another Paratrooper reporting for duty sir, I spent my time in hell" This two lines seems to describe that the poet has already resigned to his fate that he will die,and he thinks of the battlefield as Hell,amply describing the dire situation there.

The language used effectively changes the mindset of the reader,bracing the reader that in war,everybody has already prepared for their death.The poet also likens a battlefield to hell,allowing the reader to "see" the dire situation there using selected language.

6.Sounds
The end rhyme in the poem is obvious,and the rhyme allows for fluid reading.Also,the last word of each stanza tends to be quite powerful.For example,"blood" and "mud",describes the war effectively,showing the reader that war is just a place full of mud and blood.

The use of these sounds translates to the use of war - power.It shoves the actions right into the reader's face.

7.Style & Tone
The style of the poem is meant to be fast-paced and full of action.The tone of the speaker seems to be terrified and the speaker seems to be resigned to the fact that he will eventually die.

The tone creates an impactful lunge at the reader,forcing them into a very angsty and sad mood.The style is very appropriate,and seems to amplify the terror felt by a soldier,and compress it into a poem.The tone reveals that the speaker is not afraid of war once he is in it,as he know that he will die eventually.

8.Personal response
I feel that the poem is well written,and overall,it is an impactful poem that seems to lunge out at the readers with it's ample diction and language.The poem makes me feel as if I am observing my comrades in war,and watching how it bloodily unfolds.The poem seems to tell me that war is not an amazing thing,and will never be one.

The poem is rather simply written out,and through its simple language,much is felt about the war.There is not much cultural influences on the poem-as long as one knows about the Afghan war,they should be able to figure the language out.The poem seems to reach out to everybody through the use of simple language.

As the poem reaches out to you,it seems to create a very stern atmosphere.Overall,I feel that the poem's atmosphere not only helps to bring out its language and diction,it is easy to take note of whatever transpires in the poem,yet there is hidden meaning inside-all soldiers will die,evident from the poet saying that he will eventually go to heaven.This naked declaration allows the reader to think thoroughly:is war really worthwhile?