What Were They Like? Themes
Innocence
The people of Vietnam are portrayed as gentle, peace-loving, and family-oriented. The images Levertov uses in "What Were They Like"—clouds reflected in water, families passing down stories, or ce...
Warfare
Despite being about the potential outcome of a very famous war, the only clue we have that the poem is about Vietnam is in the first line of "What Were They Like." Still, the events the poem refere...
Art and Culture
Songs, ornaments, epic poems—all of these lasting works of art show that a society has culture. The first speaker of "What Were They Like," desiring to understand the people of Vietnam, asks if t...
Injustice
Considering the poem itself is a form of protest, it's no surprise that a sense of injustice permeates the tone and imagery of "What Were They Like." The people, described as peaceful and nature-lo...