Rainbow Death (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

America did not foresee
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 America led astray -
Generations untold WILL pay -
Execrable effects of agent orange spray!

Hubert Wilson

1) Point Of View
I believe that the poem is written by someone who has encountered Agent Orange before. He obvious that he knows about Agent Orange as he mentioned about them in his poem. However, "America did not foresee" suggests that he probably did not know Agent Orange was released therefore he suffered from the effects. He knew that Agent Orange was "reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead" and "toll on the innocent and unborn" therefore it suggests that he had first-hand experience of it which actually evokes a sense of solemness. With reference to the background information, he was a person that went to war in Vietnam since he was a Vietnam veteran so he should be able to see the effects since the war was about a span of 20 years.

2) Situation & Setting
I setting of the poem is after Agent Orange had been used. Since the poet is experiencing the effects of Agent Orange, he should be writing it in an emotional state. He would most probably like to inform others about the devastating effects of Agent Orange. To fit in historical background, Agent Orange was used in the Vietnam War and it caused 400,000 deaths. I guess the main purpose of the poem is to show people how modern warfare can destroy lives and thus needing the setting of aftermath of the war or the use of herbicide.

3)Language/Diction
Firstly, I would like to elaborate on the title, 'Rainbow Death'. It seems like 2 very contrasting words. Rainbow seems like a very enjoyable word as everytime we see a rainbow, we would stare at it and smile to ourselves. However, death is not a nice thing. Therefore I searched the web for the meaning of 'rainbow'. I found out that rainbow actually symbolizes heavenly glory or they serve as a bridge between earth and paradise. However there is still a contrast, but if you were to think carefully, there might be another meaning to 'rainbow'. It could also mean different colored herbicide used in warfare such as Agent Orange and Agent Green which caused death and deformities. Therefore, I would say that the title actually means a bridge leading to hell or death.

4)Personal Response
This poem evokes sympathy and pity those who suffered from the effects of Agent Orange. The title 'Rainbow Death' is called an oxymoron which leaves the reader puzzled throughout the poem. This makes the reader feel uneasy. The poet elaborates on the devastating effects of war such as "illness, birth defects and prematurely dead" while the Americans had been "Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn". I think the poet tells the reader what caused all this to happen at the last line to make them angry and sympathise with those who died. I think the poet dislikes modern warfare a lot and would hope that war will not happen again as many innocent people would die from it.