E-Learning Assignment Task 1

The following is my E-learning assignment Task 1, an analysis on the poem Rainbow Death by Hubert Wilson.

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!

What I’m supposed to do is write a report about the conflict which is represented in this poem, of course after carrying out extensive research.

So basically after surfing around the net, I realised that this poem is actually talking about the use of “Rainbow Herbicides” by the U.S Military in the Vietnam war, in particular the use of the infamous Agent Orange.

Rainbow Herbicides, a direct reflection of the name of this poem, is a group of chemicals which the U.S Military used during the Vietnam War. Their main purpose was to destroy plants to expose Vietnamese soldiers hiding among the forests. Other Rainbow Herbicides besides Agent Orange were Agent Green, Pink and Purple, which are shown in the first line of the poem.

From 1961-1971, Agent Orange was widely used by the U.S Military, and apart from destroying large areas of vegetation, Agent Orange caused 400,000 deaths and 500,000 children born with defects. This devastation is repeatedly reflected in the poem, like how the agent tolls on the “innocent and unborn”, and the “illness, birth defects and prematurely dead” as a result of the use of Agent Orange.

As of now this is my research on the use of the Rainbow Herbicides shown in the poem, and the next pose will be about close analysis of the poem.