Easter 1916 Flashcards
(13 cards)
Purpose
- Affirms heroism + bravery of Irish rebels –> by portraying their sacrifice as a transformative act that elevates them beyond their personal flaws, and earns them lasting honor within Irish history
- Critiques cost of sacrifice –> by highlighting how rebels forfeited personal fulfillment and emotional depth in pursuit of a political goal, suggesting such devotion deserves commemoration
- Challenges romanticised notions of death and mourning –> Insisting that the rebels deaths must be remembered with solemnity and respect.
Quote 1
‘All changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.’
Quote 1 Technique/s
‘All changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.’
- Hyperbole
- Anadiplosis (changed, changed)
- Oxymoron
- Refrain (A terrible beauty is born)
Quote 1 Analysis
‘All changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.’
- ‘All changed, changed utterly’ –>
- Definition of utterly reflects the extent of change + heightens the paradox of Yeats initial denigration of the rebels, but now commemorating and immortalising them and their valour in his poetry
- ‘terrible beauty’ –> An oxymoron is used honour the rebels sacrifice, having it being labelled as ‘terrible’, while the rebels bravery is labelled as the ‘beauty’
- The refrain stresses the paradoxical nature of Yeats response
Quote 3
‘Hearts …\
Enchanted to a stone’
Quote 3 Technique/s
‘Hearts … seem
Enchanted to a stone’
- Symbolism
- Metaphor (heart - stone)
- Personification (enchanted)
Quote 3 Analysis
‘Hearts … seem
Enchanted to a stone’
Yeats compares the rebels hearts to a stone - unwavering in their beliefs. He compares them to stones in a river, in which the rushing water represents life, how it changes and moves forward, but through this the rebels ideas are changeless.
Quote 4
‘Minute by minute they change;
A shadow of cloud on the stream
Changes minute by minute;’
Quote 4 Technique/s
‘Minute by minute they change;
A shadow of cloud on the stream
Changes minute by minute;’
- Chiasmus
- Symbolism of water
- Repetition of ‘minute by minute;
Quote 4 Analysis
‘Minute by minute they change;
A shadow of cloud on the stream
Changes minute by minute;’
- Life constantly changes - minute by minute - Implying the rebels wont be around to appreciate the effects of their struggle
- Chiasmus - The forward and backward movement of the river signifies constant change in the natural world, where the fluidity is contrasted with the rebels’ fixed, stone-like hearts, emphasizing how their sacrifice interrupts the natural flow of history.
Quote 5
‘No, no, not night but death;
Was it needless death after all?’
Quote 5 Technique/s
‘No, no, not night but death;
Was it needless death after all?’
- Rhetorical Question
- Contrast b/w night and death. (night = temporary sleep, death = permanent sleep)
- Repetition.
Quote 5 Analysis
Yeats contrasts the rebels sacrifice with the sacrifice by Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday. Unlike Christ, the rebels themselves will not be resurrected - they will never wake. This then prompts Yeats to question the need of death, reflecting on the absolute that the rebels wont be resurrected, so was their sacrifice all that necessary?
