Poppies Flashcards
‘Three days before Armistice day and Poppies had already been placed’
This is symbolism as the Poppy has a symbolic link towards violence, death and memory
‘I pinned onto your lapel’
The pronouns ‘i’ and ‘your’ really emphasise the closeness the speaker has with the soldier
‘Disrupting a blockade’
Military reference to ‘blocking’ perhaps of emotion
‘Sellotape bandaged around my hand’
Military metaphor as sellotape can be linked to the thought of bandaging and healing a wound
‘I rounded up as many cat hairs down your shirt’
Implies the Motherly caring love she has before he goes off. A sense of comforting not only for the soldier but for herself as a soothing mechanism
‘Steeled the softening’
Sibilance is used here giving a calm tone towards the scene
‘Through the gelled blackthorns of your hair’
Conveys the sense of agressive manner the military has due to the shortness of the boys hair
‘Flattened, rolled, turned into felt’
The power of the three words show how she is tongue tied and doesn’t know what to say as she is proud of her son but also doesn’t want him to leave
‘i walked with you to the front door and threw it open’
This is symbolic as it shows the idea of her throwing the door open and letting him free of choice and accepting towards what ever he wants to go ahead and do
‘Like a treasure chest’
This is a simile conveying the message that the world seems so attractive in the eyes of her son and her aspirations she has for him to have opportunities
‘Released a song bird from its cage’
This is a metaphor linking to how she sees her son as a beautiful bird locked in a cage and needs to be set free into the world and make his own choices
‘making tucks, darts, pleats, hatless’
This is a list showing how the Mother is trying to distract herself from grief and the thought of her son leaving home
The Relationship in the poem provides a deeper level of empathy and the conflict between what was and what is not the relationship
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The poem uses a range of techniques to capture the speakers sad and reflective tine
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The poem uses contrasting language and ideas to emphasise the conflict the disturbance the Mother is in
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