Analysis of the poem

1. Women, children, babies, cows and cats Robert Lowell

2. “ There were so many people killed that day it is hard for me to recall exactly how some of the people died.” U.S. Army Pvt. Harry Stanley

3. Pfc. Varnado Simpson, shot a woman, a baby. Afterwards, he went into a kind of shock. “The baby’s face was half gone, my mind just went…and I just started killing. Old men, women, children, water buffaloes, everything…I just killed…That day in My Lai, I was personally responsible for killing about 25 people,” said Simpson.

4. Women, children, babies, cows, cats… ‘ It was at My Lai or Sonmy or something, it was this afternoon… We had these orders, we had all night to think about it – it was to burn and kill, then there’d be nothing standing, women, children, babies, cows, cats… As soon as we hopped the choppers, we started shooting. I remember… as we was coming up upon one area in Pinkville, a man with a gun… running – this lady… Lieutenant LaGuerre said, “Shoot her.” I said, “You shoot her, I don’t want to shoot no lady.” She had one foot in the door… When I turned her, there was this little one-month-year-old baby I thought was her gun. It kind of cracked me up.” Robert Lowell

5. ‘ It was at My Lai or Sonmy or something, it was this afternoon… We had these orders, we had all night to think about it – it was to burn and kill, then there’d be nothing standing, women, children, babies, cows, cats… Name of the place = unimportant Just another place of killing What happened more important than where! Orders – destroy the area completely – nothing and no-one to be left alive List reduces status of people – classified with animals

6. As soon as we hopped the choppers, we started shooting. I remember… as we was coming up upon one area in Pinkville, a man with a gun… running – this lady… Lieutenant LaGuerre said, “Shoot her.” I said, Army slang/jargon – jumped out of the helicopters An American soldier – no enemy fire Concord error – language of uneducated, “real”, ordinary person Innuendo? Guns blazing – callous killing machines

7. “ You shoot her, I don’t want to shoot no lady.” She had one foot in the door… When I turned her, there was this little one-month-year-old baby I thought was her gun. It kind of cracked me up.” Appears that he did shoot her in the end – mistook her baby for a gun When I turned her = turned over her dead body Appalled – waging war on women and children Guilt, anguish Deed = awful Hysterical reaction of a man twisted by war IRONY Attempting to protect herself – keep door shut or force it open Confusion about age – shock/age doesn’t matter?