poppies - jane weir

Question 1

Give a plot summary for Poppies.

Answer 1

poppies - jane weir:

• the speaker sees poppies on graves before Armistice Sunday, and she remembers pinning one to her son’s blazer
• she wished she had acted how they did when they were younger, but didn’t
• after the son left, she went into his bedroom and released a bird from its cage
• she goes into the churchyard and visits the war memorial, hoping to hear her son’s voice from the playground

Question 2

What inspired Jane Weir to write Poppies?

Answer 2

Jane Weir was inspired to write Poppies in 2009 as a response to the escalating conflict in Afghanistan. She wanted to show the effects of war rather than the conflict itself, and based it on her experience as a mother. Carol Ann Duffy was also seeking war poems to include in a cluster.

Question 3

Give six key quotes in Poppies.

Answer 3

poppies - jane weir:

• “before you left, I pinned [a poppy] onto your lapel… spasms of red paper”
• “sellotape bandaged around my hand”
• “I wanted to… play… like we did when you were little”
• “the world overflowing like a treasure chest”
• “leaned against it like a wishbone”
• “I listened, hoping to hear your playground voice catching on the wind”

Question 4

Give four relevant points about structure and form in Poppies.

Answer 4

poppies - jane weir:

• four stanzas with two different lengths
• near iambic pentameter
• no rhyme
• caesura and enjambment throughout

Question 5

Give two key themes present in Poppies.

Answer 5

poppies - jane weir:

• effects of conflict
• suffering