Denise Levertov’s acclaimed poem ‘Weeping Woman’, accentuates the horrors of war, how the deeds of war do not discriminate. Through an array of literary techniques she captivates her readers, and provides an replication of the overwhelming flow of thoughts the faceless woman is experiencing, in the end Denise Levertov provides a strong definition, and portrays the conceptual idea of “The deeds of war do not discriminate”. Poet Denise Levertov, further enhances the notion of ‘The toll of war does not discriminate’, through her poem “Weeping Woman”.
She thoroughly provokes the minds of her readers, through the use of tone and transitions. Within the first tercet stanzas, the tone is gentle and in grief of what privileges she had been stripped off, as the poem proceeds down two tercet stanzas, the audience is then exposed to the transitional stanza where the tone changes from gentle to harsh resentment. “She is weeping for her lost right arm. The Stump aches, and her side. ” The transitional stanza is indirectly symbolic of how her privileges and arm is shortened.
After the transitional stanza is where we come across the three tercet stanzas. The audience is now subjected to the resentful and harsh tone, as shown by the following extract; “The left alone cannot use a rifle” To help shoot down the attacking plane. ” The effect of the transition from tones, captivates the audience causing the audience to sympathise with the victim and share a mutual contempt for the menacing authority that is the USA who caused the weeping woman all her pains.
Denis Levertov, accentuates constantly the notion of ‘The toll of war does not discriminate’, within her poem “Weeping Woman” through the constant utilisation of pronouns ‘She is weeping for her lost right arm’ and ‘She cannot hold her baby any caress it at the same time’, these pronouns provide an inception of a faceless victim. The first two stanzas show “She cannot write the alphabet anymore on the kindergarten blackboard” and “She cannot hold her baby and caress it at the same time ever again”. Denise Levertov exploits the responsibilities of this faceless woman, how the victim is responsible for the future of children including her own.
It highlights that she is a mother and a teacher, it highlights that she is no threat to the attacker nothing but a vulnerable mother. The effect of the pronouns work harmoniously to create a sense of empathy and sympathy, and enhances the conceptual idea of ‘The toll of war does not discriminate’. The most prominent technique which Denise Levertov has implemented is anaphora. Through the use of anaphora Denise Levertov creates builds towards a climax, anaphora can create an immense emotional effect to the reader.
Her uses of anaphora have been used throughout the poem. “She is weeping for her lost right arm. ”, repetition of this line emphasises the whole conceptual idea of both mental and physical. It harnesses the idea of grief, mutilation, and a weeping wound. Under deep analysis Denise Levertov’s use of anaphora, can interpreted in many different ways. The climatic point of the speech occurs at the 5th stanza. The 5th stanza is the thought provoking stanza, which introduces the reader into new concept, the concept of mutilation.
She effectively portrays that mutilation may disable her from writing, and teaching the children. However, she is writing indelibly not literally but mentally, displaying the horrors of war. To conclude, through the utilisation of many literary components Denise Levertov embraces the notion of ‘horrors of war’ and ‘how the deed of war doesn’t discriminate’. Literary devices such as tones, transitions, anaphora and pronouns all create an immense sensation of empathy and sympathy, which brings the horrors of war to a realisation.
