While I Was Gone a War Began | Themes

While I Was Gone a War Began Themes

War

The theme of war is obvious in this poem since the word "war" is in its title. First the narrator hears the news of the war, and then she describes her reaction. She names countries where violence is threatening to destroy the people entirely, and she gives examples of the universality of hatred and power struggles. After speculating about the value of literature in a war-torn world, she also points out how people have become so used to wars that they have perhaps accepted the violence as normal and turned their attention to more trivial matters.

Role of Literature

The Italian dissident in the poem asks, "What good have all the great writers done? . . . What good your poems, / your good intentions, / your thoughts and words." These questions have probably been asked for centuries, yet we know that every great civilization has had a body of literature...
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