Kamikaze Flashcards
Who wrote Kamikaze?
Beatrice Garland
What is kamikaze about?
Poem opens with a kamikaze pilot, setting of on his mission. They flew planes on suicide missions into enemy ships, it was seen as a way of honouring your country. The pilot turned around and didn’t complete the mission. He was then ignored when he got home.
What’s the context of Kamikaze?
- Poem reflects the immense social pressure brought to bear no the pilots to carry out kamikaze missions as part of japans war effort during ww2.
- prompts the thought suicide missions are part of contemporary conflicts.
- Seppuku
What verb creates a sense of a journey that links with the title to suggest it will be a journey to his death?
“Her father embarked”
What does “sunrise” imply?
Japan is known as the land of the rising sun so this may be a reference to the location
What phrase suggests that the pilot was under a kind of spell, which hints at the influence of patriotic propaganda that kamikazes were exposed to?
“full of powerful incantations”
What word in the second stanza acts as a volta, suggesting that the plane is still flying but its going to turn around?
“but half way there”
What does “she thought” show?
It shows that these are his daughters thoughts and explanations, the pilot has no voice and his real reasons are never heard”
What simile is homely and pretty and uses bunting which is associated with celebration which makes the image ironic as there’s no victorious return for the pilot?
“strung out like bunting”
What quotation is ironic that the pilot should have been aiming for big enemy ships but a smaller one catches his eye?
“at the little fishing boats”
What quotations shows a beautiful image of nature?
“on a green-blue translucent sea”
What quotation uses flags to symbolise a national identity but also uses a simile to hint at the way flags can be used to stop/direct something?
“like a huge flag waved first one way”
What do the repeated sibilant sounds show? “shoals” “swilled” “sun”
they reflect the smooth movement of the fish in the water
what does “flashing silver” suggest?
This hints at the movement of the samurai sword. It’s an ironic reference, because the pilot is turning away from combat
What phrase switches the focus to the pilot’s childhood memories? paralepsis
“and he remembered how he”
