E-learning Task 2: Children in the Darnkess

Complete the template provided in 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.

Steps in Analysis
	Point	Evidence	Elaboration
1.	Point of View	- 3rd Person POV - Hopeful tone: repetition of “could”	- Shows that the speaker is not directly involved in the situation but rather is reporting about the matter - As if he is trying to help them, hoping that they have a better future
2.	Situation and Setting	- Children fighting in wars as child soldiers: “would someone teach them to fight” - These children have no choice and are forced into it as they “are not free” - Some of them are killed in wars: “Will a war consume them” - Children living in a bleak world: “there shines no light” - Speaker feels compassionate toward them and wants to give them a chance	- These children are forced into fighting wars against their will - They cannot escape this life of theirs - Some of them are killed in wars - Children are indeed in a hopeless situation with no hope of freedom - Speaker hopes that we could educate them and give them a chance
3.	Language/Diction	Figurative language used - “darkness” and “light”: metaphors used to contrast their lives with other free children - “darkness” : the bleak lives of the children where there is no hope of escape - “chalk and blackboards”: metaphor for education - “door”: symbolises the children’s freedom - “key”: the struggle for freedom - “light a candle”: brighten up their lives, give them a new chance and education - “no flight”, “no light”: children cannot escape; light represents hope, shows that there is no hope	- Use of metaphors helps reader sympathise with these children who are less fortunate than them and are going through suffering - Lets readers empathise with these children in their struggle for freedom - “simply light a candle” - Poet wants us to help brighten up their lives
4.	Personal Response	This poem evokes a sense of bitterness and hardship through its good use of figurative language. It helps the reader to understand in clear detail the suffering of the child soldiers. It also reaches out to the readers for them to take action to help these children. This poem has enlightened me on the suffering of child soldiers and helped raised my awareness for them. This poem also evokes my sympathy through its bleak descriptions of hardships faced. I feel that these children are treated brutally as they are forced to become child soldiers, much against their will. They evoke my sympathy as they are not given a chance and have no childhood. They do not even receive education and some even die in wars. I think that humanity has to do something about this to stop forcing children into child soldiers as every child has his own right and dignity to live the life that he wants. This poem touches on the brutality of mankind in this world. We dominate over our weaker ones and force them to do things at our command. The ugliness of mankind is also portrayed as innocent children are sent to fight in wars, in which many of them perish brutally.