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English > poems > Flashcards

poems Flashcards

1
Q

Kamikaze author

A

Beatrice Garland

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2
Q

Main themes and ideas in Kamikaze

A
  • story of a pilot’s aborted suicide mission, told by his daughter
  • themes of honour, patriotism, shame
  • images of the sun throughout
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3
Q

Explore “her father embarked at sunrise “ “a shaven head full of powerful incantations” (kamikaze)

A
  • “incantations” suggests he is under a spell, which is a metaphor for how powerful the propaganda was
  • “sunrise” immediately starts sun motif and connotes feelings of new beginnings and joy
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4
Q

Explore “the little fishing boats strung out like bunting on a green translucent sea”
(kamikaze)

A
  • beautiful images of nature persuaded him not to kill himself
  • “bunting” connotes images of celebrations but ironically there will be no celebration for the pilot
  • enjambment and lack of punctuation show the pilots mind was racing
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5
Q

Explore “fishes flashing silver as their bellies swivelled towards the sun” (kamikaze)

A
  • sibilance reflects smooth movement of fish in the water
  • “silver” reminds us of samurai swords used in combat, but ironically the pilot is turning away from violence
  • “bellies” is a vulnerable, childish image, suggests this image brought back childhood memories
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6
Q

Explore “and sometimes, she said, he must have wondered which had been the better way to die” (kamikaze)

A
  • irony that he survived but was treated as if he were dead
  • sense of regret that he sacrificed the mission for his loved ones but spent the rest of his life in isolation
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7
Q

Describe the form and structure of Kamikaze

A
  • poem is narrated in the third person, by the pilots granddaughter - lack of pilots voice shows he’s been cut off from society
  • free verse and enjambment shows lack of rigidity and control - could reflect his stream of consciousness or the pilots loss of control over his life
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8
Q

The Prelude author

A

William Wordsworth

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9
Q

Main themes and ideas in the Prelude

A
  • shows a experience when he stole a boat and became intimidated by the size of a mountain
  • themes of the power of nature, connection between humans and nature
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10
Q

Explore “a little boat tied to a willow tree” and “an elfin pinnace” (prelude)

A
  • “little” and “elfin” suggests childishness and innocence
  • “elfin pinnace” (fairy boat) is a metaphor which makes the scene magical
  • happy, rural, beautiful image
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11
Q

Explore “a huge peak, black and huge” and “upreared its head”
(prelude)

A
  • repetition of “huge” and simplicity of adjectives show a loss for words to describe the mountain - incredible yet terrifying
  • personification creates a monstrous impression - contrasts the images of the boat earlier
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12
Q

Explore “but huge and mighty forms, that do not live like living men moved slowly through my mind by day, and were a trouble to my dreams” (prelude)

A
  • nature is described as a powerful, conscious being
  • poem ends on an unsettling note to reflect how much Wordsworth changed from the confident, carefree boy at the start
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13
Q

Describe the form and structure of the Prelude

A
  • first-person narrative because he is recounting a very personal experience
  • black verse (unrhymed in iambic pentameter) makes it sound serious/important
  • three sections - light and carefree - fear - fearful and reflective
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14
Q

Bayonet Charge author

A

Ted Hughes

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15
Q

Describe the main themes and ideas in Bayonet Charge

A
  • he imagines his father’s experience in the trenches in WW1
  • themes of violence, determination, terror
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16
Q

Explore “Suddenly he awoke and was running … “ (bayonet charge)

A
  • starts in the middle of action
  • “running” suggests speed, urgency, panic
  • “he” makes the soldier anonymous and highlights the idea that soldiers lose their individuality
17
Q

Explore “cold clockwork” (bayonet charge)

A
  • hard alliteration reflects the hardness of the people (who sent the soldiers over the top to attack)
  • metaphor compares them to clockwork mechanism is dehumanising and shows they have no sympathy for soliders
18
Q

Explore “Then the shot-slashed furrows / threw up a yellow hare that rolled like a flame” (bayonet charge)

A
  • enjambment between stanzas shows how the violent experience seem to never end
  • “shot-slashed” = alliteration and onomatopoeia emphasises the violence
  • “yellow hare” shows vivid contrast between nature and battlefield and could symbolise the soldier running frantically
  • simile “flame” is another image of destruction - nature is also a victim
19
Q

Explore “king, honour, human dignity, etcetera” (bayonet charge)

A
  • listing reasons usually given to persuade people to go to war
  • “etcetera” suggests the reasons aren’t worth listing because these ideals are lies or luxuries that they can’t afford - soldier is stripped to animal instinct and terror
20
Q

Explore “his terror’s touchy dynamite” (bayonet charge)

A
  • his humanity has been stripped away and is purely fear
  • even his fear has been metaphorically reduced to just a weapon
21
Q

Describe the form and structure of Bayonet Charge

A
  • starts in medias res
  • use of enjambment, caesura, uneven line length create an irregular rhythm which mirrors the chaos and confusion`
22
Q

Exposure author

A

Wilfred Owen

23
Q

Describe the main themes and ideas in Exposure

A
  • about WW1
  • he has an angry tone which shows how horrific war is
  • the soldiers wake at night, afraid of an enemy attack but nature is their main enemy
24
Q

Explore “our brains ache, in the merciless iced east winds that knive us “ (exposure)

A
  • “our” shows a sense of camaraderie
  • winds are personified as killers, comparing them to the real enemy (Germany)
25
Q

Explore “we hear the mad gusts tugging on the wire like the twitching agonies of men” (exposure)

A
  • wind is personified again as “mad” and “tugging” as if its desperate
  • simile compares the sound of wind to the cries of the wounded
  • alliteration of “t” and assonance of “gusts”“tugging” exaggerate the sounds and reflects the soldiers terror as they listen and wait
26
Q

Explore “pale flakes with fingering stealth come feeling for our faces” (exposure)

A
  • snow is personified
  • soft alliteration of “f” with “fingering stealth” suggest the snow is creeping up on them - like the enemy
27
Q

Explore “all their eyes are ice / but nothing happens” (exposure)

A
  • the dead men’s eyes have frozen over while the living men have lost all emotion - suggests the living men are so similar to the dead men because of what they’ve been through
  • “but nothing happens” reiterates the futility of war and shows they’re still waiting and maybe will continue waiting forever
28
Q

Storm on the Island author

A

Seamus Heaney

29
Q

Describe the main themes and ideas in Storm on the Island

A
  • about the political conflict between Republic of and Northern Ireland
  • Heaney is catholic and has never openly criticised the IRA
  • he described this violence as “neighbourly murder”
30
Q

Explore “spits like a tame cat turned savage”

A
  • simile shows how the familiar can turn deadly - referencing both nature and sectarian violence
  • “spits” rhymes with “hits” - onomatopoeia conveys ferocity
31
Q

Explore “we just sit tight while wind dives and strafes invisibly. Space is a salvo”

A
  • semantic field of military violence, against which the narrator is powerless
32
Q

Explore “Strange, it is a huge nothing that we fear”

A
  • the oxymoron suggests so many conflicts result from intangible ideas/beliefs
33
Q

Describe the form and structure of Storm on the Island

A
  • enjambment and lack of rhyme show a friendly and conversational tone
  • present tense

English (8 decks)

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