poems

Question 1

Kamikaze author

Answer 1

Beatrice Garland

Question 2

Main themes and ideas in Kamikaze

Answer 2

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

Question 3

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

Answer 3

• “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

Question 4

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

Answer 4

• 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

Question 5

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

Answer 5

• 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

Question 6

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

Answer 6

• 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

Question 7

Describe the form and structure of Kamikaze

Answer 7

• 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

Question 8

The Prelude author

Answer 8

William Wordsworth

Question 9

Main themes and ideas in the Prelude

Answer 9

• 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

Question 10

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

Answer 10

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

Question 11

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

Answer 11

• 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

Question 12

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)

Answer 12

• 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

Question 13

Describe the form and structure of the Prelude

Answer 13

• 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

Question 14

Bayonet Charge author

Answer 14

Ted Hughes

Question 15

Describe the main themes and ideas in Bayonet Charge

Answer 15

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

Question 16

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

Answer 16

• 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

Question 17

Explore “cold clockwork” (bayonet charge)

Answer 17

• 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

Question 18

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

Answer 18

• 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

Question 19

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

Answer 19

• 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

Question 20

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

Answer 20

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

Question 21

Describe the form and structure of Bayonet Charge

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Exposure author

Answer 22

Wilfred Owen

Question 23

Describe the main themes and ideas in Exposure

Answer 23

• 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

Question 24

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

Answer 24

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

Question 25

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

Answer 25

- 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

Question 26

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

Answer 26

- snow is personified - soft alliteration of "f" with "fingering stealth" suggest the snow is creeping up on them - like the enemy

Question 27

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

Answer 27

- 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

Question 28

Storm on the Island author

Answer 28

Seamus Heaney

Question 29

Describe the main themes and ideas in Storm on the Island

Answer 29

- 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"

Question 30

Explore "spits like a tame cat turned savage"

Answer 30

- simile shows how the familiar can turn deadly - referencing both nature and sectarian violence - "spits" rhymes with "hits" - onomatopoeia conveys ferocity

Question 31

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

Answer 31

- semantic field of military violence, against which the narrator is powerless

Question 32

Explore "Strange, it is a huge nothing that we fear"

Answer 32

- the oxymoron suggests so many conflicts result from intangible ideas/beliefs

Question 33

Describe the form and structure of Storm on the Island

Answer 33

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