POPPIES

Question 1

Context

Answer 1

Wrote poem from the perspective of a mother
Asked to write a piece on suffering and death while soldiers were stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan

Question 2

Form

Answer 2

First person narrative
Free verse - imagined how she would feel as a mother if this was her son

Question 3

Structure

Answer 3

3 stanzas - irregular
Non-chronological narrative
Enjambment and caesura - doesn’t flow as speaker is trying to make sense of her experience/ grief

Question 4

Quotations

Answer 4

“Spasms of red paper”
“All my words flattened, rolled, turned to felt… slowly melting”
“I was brave”
“The world overflowing like a treasure chest”
“Released a song bird from its cage”
“Without… reinforcements”
“Hoping to hear you playground voice”

Question 5

Key themes

Answer 5

War, suffering, loss, effects of conflict, individual experiences, family relationships