Poppies Flashcards
Who was poppies written by
Jane weir
What is the boy shown to be in the poem - Poppies
A soldier and a son
Form of poem and why its used - Poppies
Dramatic monologue, second person focaliser on the son. This used to emphasise the pain the mother felt of the son dying
Why are everyday objects being described with military imagery provide examples - Poppies
‘Spasms of paper red, disruping a blockade of yellow bias’
‘Selltaped around my hand’
‘Graze my nose’
‘Reinforcements of scarf,gloves’
To emphasise the idea of the impact of war and the impacts upon the mother from war (son is suffering in her mind constantly)
Langauge stanza 1 - Poppies
“Petals of paper red, disrupting a blockade’. This could suggests how the mother tried to stop him from going to war however was powerless. Also asyndetic list used to show mother remembers in detail. Additionally, shows the mothers suffering (overwhelmed)
‘Three days before Armistice’ temporal deixis establishes theme of rememberance
Langauge stanza 2 - Poppies
‘Rounded up as many white cat hairs’ represent how the son was possibly captured (white symbolism for surrender)
‘Steeled the softening if my face’ trying to toughen herself up but doesn’t wsnt son to go
‘All my word flattened,rolled,turned into felt, slowly melting’ All her words emotions turned into (felt feeling). Enjambment
“If one is to grieve, one has to, at some point, let it dissolve” (Jane Weir)
Langauge stanza 3 - Poppies
‘I was brave’ no longer brave shows effects of suffering even those not in war
‘Overflowing like a treasure chest’ simile shows sons sense of excitement leaving (childish)
‘A split second and you were away’ Euphesim for death (split second shows how quickly people can die reality of war)
‘Intoxicated’ harsh effects on war on people (suffering) ‘released a song bird from the cage’ mourning sons death
‘Without a winter coat or reinforcments of scarf or gloves’ Metaphor for invulnerability of mother from the death of the son
Langauge stanza 4 - Poppies
‘War memorial’ group death memorial no importsnt place for the son
‘Like a wishbone’ wish to go to war but dies (snaps) or the mother is on her knees (physicsl grief)
‘The dove’ symbolism for mourning
‘Hoping to hear your playground voice catching on the wind’ hopless memory she wants to return to. She wants his soul to revisit her and his voice.
Structure of the poem - Poppies
Past tense, free verse, no rhyme scheme, irregular stanza + line lengths
Chaotic structure reflects war
Cyclical son goes from participating rememberance to being remembered
Similarties with Kamikaze and Poppies
psychological effects of war is seen in both poems. Weir shows how grief leads the narrator to process blissful, domestic memories of having “sellotape bandaged around [her] hand” whereas Garland recounts the day the character’s “father embarked at sunrise”.
Both poems are focused on the unconventional victims of war, not those who went into battle themselves. This shows how far reaching the effects of violence are.
Differences with Kamikaze and Poppies
Poppies, the narrator’s physical loss is shown by the wistful “I listened, hoping to hear // your playground voice”.
In Kamikaze, the main character’s father is rejected by society rather than killed and she has to “live as though he had never returned”. This shows how even those not actually killed in war can have their lives ruined also.
Similarities with remains and Poppies
psychological impact of losing a son is seen in Poppies through the desire to return to “play at being Eskimos like we did when [he was little”].
Armitage also explores the psychological effect of losing someone however, whilst Weir’s narrator wishes to remember, Armitage’s attempts to forget “the image of agony” after killing a man.
Remains, he is unable to “Sleep” or “Dream” and in Poppies the irregular structure shows her unable to hold herself together. These memories seem to extend the impact of war for both narrators
Differences with Remains and Poppies
Armitage presents the narrator’s guilt through the harsh repetition of
“his bloody life in my bloody hands” as well as the desperate
“the drink and the drugs won’t flush him out”.
In Poppies, the narrator instead experiences grief which is shown in the declarative
“I was brave” and having to “[lean] against it” when seeing the war memorial.