Anthology Poetry Flashcards
Opening quote in The Manhunt
“Frozen river”
describes the physical scars left on his body
“frozen” could imply that he has shut himself off from the world and his wife will find it hard to re-build the relationship and love they once had before the war in Bosnia
Development of The Manhunt
“Porcelain collarbone”
connotations of being delicate, fragile, breakable - this is not what a typical soldier would be like as they are thought to be robust, strong and dependable - war has broken him and changed him completely
If you break porcelain then glue it back together, you will always still see the cracks - this shows how the war has left a permanent scar on his life
Further on in The Manhunt
“Unexploded mine”
A metaphor for the PTSD he suffers from as a result of the war
Simon Armitage uses military terminology to describe his PTSD
He is affected not only physically but mentally as well
Ending of The Manhunt
“Only then did I come close”
a faint glimmer of hope for their relationship
She has thawed the ice and is slightly closer to re-kindling the loving relationship they used to have before the war
Opening of The Prelude
“Blazed”
Power of nature
admires the sunlight
Development of The Prelude
“Polish’d ice”
childhood memories
perfection
no blemishes
nothing to disturb the perfect smoothness of the ice
Further on in The Prelude
“Tinkled like iron”
Iron - strongest metal they could think of at the time
links to the industrial revolution
iron goes orange in colour when it rusts and when William Wordsworth likens the trees to iron he could be talking about the sun casting an orange glow on the trees’ branches
trees are strong, robust, dependable
Ending of The Prelude
“Orange sky died away”
Orange - simple colour shows the simple beauty of nature
Died - symbolises childhood like a sunset. It is inevitable and just fades away without you noticing. It is over so fast.
Opening of Hawk roosting
