Poppies Flashcards
(8 cards)
“sellotape” had “bandaged” her hand
-the verb “bandaged” is implcit of an injury, which could be indicative of her mental pain at the idea of letting her son go
-throughout the poem there seems to be a semantic field of injury through the lexical choices of words such as “spasms” and “bandaged”
-these images convey the inherent violence of war
-coupled with domestic imagery such as “sellotape” and “paper red”, Weir presents the inextricable connection between family loss and conflict
-for a mother of two children and someone who grew in Ireland during the ‘Troubles’ of the 1980s and therefore witnessed the effects of conflict firsthand, perhaps the poet alludes the connection between familial grief and war in order expose the untold consequences of war on the family of soldiers
written in second person
the suggestion of the poem being written and directed towards he son-an absent listener-amplifies the sense of mourning as she yearns to hear he son
-this therefore highlights her trauma as deeply personal
-also gives a voice to the overlooked victim of war-the families of soldiers who are forced to witness the death of their loved ones
“crimped petals,spasms of paper red”
the lexical choice of “spasms” paired with the colour “red” constructs a violent image, enrobed in blood and gore. This perhaps reflects her mental image at the thought of her son at war
-the physical act of “spasms” could also connote to an uncontrollable reflex which cannot be repressed
-this could be an allusion to the frantic fear that plague’s her mindset at the thought of her child in conflict
-furthermore the imagery created by the poppies “crimped petals” suggests a sense of imperfection, suggesting that it is not pristine or perfect
-this depiction of the poppy -a symbol of remembrance and hope- could signify the narrator’s broken hope
-perhaps the poet attempts to criticise the war through the deconstruction of the poppy
how does war photographer compare to poppies
- experience of someone who is not fighting the war
- psychological impacts of war
- power of memory
“all my words flattened, rolled, turned into felt”
-is a powerful metaphor that reflects the mother’s emotional struggle as she faces her son’s departure
-the imagery crafted by her words being “flattened, rolled, turned into felt” paints the idea that the mother is unable to articulate herself, symbolising the mother’s repressed turmoil to express her grief and fear
-furthermore, the poet-a textile designer-use of material imagery could perhaps reflect her fragile state as she attempts to “steel the softening” of her face
caesura between “walking with her son” and “,to the front door”
-the caesura mimics a pause, as if the narrator is attempting to come to terms with what’s about to happen after he son walks away
-alternatively, the caesura could be the narrator’s attempt to dichotomise her time with her son with his impending departure, perhaps in a vain effort to savour her memory with her son
the narrator attempts to recapture the essence of her sons childhood throughout the poem such as through the semantic field of childhood through his “playground voice” and “ blazer”
this image of the narrator attempting to cling onto her son’s memory through his voice evokes a sense of desperation and longing
-however, her attempts are clearly exemplified to be futile as “hoping to hear” her son’s “voice catching on the wind” is ultimately impossible
free verse
-the poem is written in free verse which could elucidate her fragmented emotions as she attempts to come to terms with the departure of her son
-the length of her dramatic monologue could also be indicative of the magnitude of the mother’s despair
