Conflict Poems Key Points Flashcards
“Probably armed, possibly not” is from which poem?
Remains
Name some key quotations from remains
“Tosses his guts” “Blood shadow” “On another occasion” “I blink and he bursts in again” “The drinks and drugs won’t flush him out”
Name some key quotations from Exposure
“But nothing happens”, repeated 4 times over the poem anaphora
“Sudden successive flights of bullets streak the silence”
“Merciless iced east winds that knife us”
“Snow dazed” / “sun dozed”
Why does Wilfred Owen use repetition?
To show the continuation of “but nothing happens” despite them being out there and that they are dieing for what seems like nothing
Why does Alfred Lord Tennyson use repetition ?
To give it a rhythm that symbolises their unstoppable march
How does the rhythm of Charge of the light Brigade contrast to that of Owens?
Tennyson uses rhyme but not in a fixed pattern but does express the march of the army, which in itself contrasts to Exposure as they are doing nothing in that, and Owen uses pararhyme of ab ba (such as us, silent, salient and nervous), this shows nothing changes in the rhyming pattern nothing changes at the front, unlike in Tennyson
What is the structure of remains?
8 stanzas, first 7 are 4 lines last one is 2 which is short to possibly represent how he shortened the mans life
What happens in remains?
It is about a soldier who feels guilt and has PTSD from killing someone
What person is Remains written in?
1st person
Who is Remains written by?
Simon Armitage
What is the structure of exposure?
8 stanzas of 5 lines
Analyses this quotation from exposure
“Shutter and doors, all closed” and compare this idea to Charge of the Light Brigade
It expresses how the soldiers feel left out and forgotten about from they’re family and home land, whereas in Charge of the Light Brigade it is suggested that the soldiers are honoured by the people and that their “glory” cannot “fade”, however this is not how they feel
What is the structure of Charge of the Light Brigade?
6 stanzas, length varies this could portray how they endure the battle from start to finish
Who was Exposure written by?
Wilfred Owens
Who was Charge of the Light Brigade written by?
Alfred Lord Tennyson
Give some context to Remains about who the poems told through
It is based on a real life soldiers experience in Iraq and his PTSD. The first person narrative mimics the interview Armitage conducted
Give some context for Wilfred Owens Exposure
Owen spent the 1917 winter in the war and used this first hand experience to write about its reality, its a first hand account. About trench warfare in WW1. Extreme cold weather. Died a few days before the war, recognised as a Great War poet.
Give some context for Charge of the Light Brigade
Tennyson was poet Laureate at the time so was patriotic. He wrote about it from a news article he saw, about an event in the Crimean war where a mistake had been made which cost many peoples lives
Give some context for Remains
It is a first person account. After making a film for channel 4 called ‘the not dead’ where he’d interviewed veteran soldiers he wrote Poems about their first hand experiences. It’s anecdotal (unreliable). He’s never been to war, built of interviews. Based on an interview with soldier who took part in war in Iraq
Give examples of tentative language
Might, could, perhaps, some say…
Give examples of critical language
Significantly, notably, interestingly, critically …
Give some comparing connectives
Similarly, in both, likewise, equally…
Give some examples of contrasting connectives
Unlike, whereas, on the other hand, alternatively …
Who wrote Bayonet Charge?
Ted Hughes
When did Ted Hughes write Bayonet Charge?
1957
Who wrote Poppies?
Jane Weir
When did Jane Weir write Poppies ?
2009
Who wrote War Photographer?
Carol Ann Duffy
When did Carol Ann Duffy write War Photographer ?
1985
Who wrote Checking out me History?
John Agard
When was Checking out me History written ?
2007
Give some context to Poppies
It’s was published by the Guardian, the setting is ambiguous as there are suggestions it is a modern conflict but at the same time there are many frequent links to the past and memory
What are key connotations of the noun dove? Used in Poppies
It is the universal sign for peace
Give some key quotations in Poppies
“My stomach busy / making tucks, darts and pleats”
“Later a single dove flew from the pear tree”
“I listened, hoping to hear / your playground voice”
What are the key themes of Poppies?
Conflict, war, memory, effects of conflict
Give some context to War Photographer?
Photographs, in the past, had to be carefully developed under a red light
It is from an interesting and unusual perspective on war from a job which is dangerous
What are the key themes of War Photographer?
Conflict, war, futility of war, effects of conflict
Five some key quotations of War Photographer
“Spools of suffering set out in ordered rows”
“Home again […] to fields which don’t explode beneath the feet / of running children in a nightmare heat”
What is the language like in Checking Out Me History? How does this reflect the authors message?
It is very colloquial, this reflects the contrast between different cultures history and taught history
Give some context to what the poem ‘Checking Out Me History’ is about
Even today the schools curriculum is mostly established by white middle class men, we are not taught as much about other cultures as we perhaps should, as John Agard expresses
Give some key quotations to Checking Out Me History
‘Dem’ - 17 times
‘Dem tell me’
‘Blind me to my own identity’
Give some context to Bayonet charge
Ted Hughes father was a veteran in WW1, the soldier is shown as more of a weapon than a man which reflects WW1, examines mans impact on nature
Give some key quotations of Bayonet Charge
‘King, honour, human dignity, etcetera’ ‘Threw up a yellow hare that rolled like a flame’ ‘Stumbling’ ‘Sweating’ ‘Plunged’ 'terror' s touchy dynamite' 'hung like statuary'
What gives the sense of frantic out of control movement in Bayonet Charge?
Verbs such as ‘plunged’ and enjambment
What semantic fields are juxtaposed in Bayonet Charge?
War and Nature ‘yellow hare…flame’
What makes the narrator universal in Bayonet Charge ?
It’s anonymity
What in general is Checking out me History about?
The speaker expressing how we are taught about famous white people but not black people that have done the same thing, comparing famous white people to similar black people, how we should be taught more about other cultures
In which poem is a repeated quatrain used? When?
In Checking out me History, when introducing a famous white character from history before contrasting them with an ignored black person
In Checking out me History what does enjambment and lack of punctuation represent?
A rejection of white history and expectations
How many poems are there in the curriculum?
15
How could you compare Charge of the Light Brigade to War Photographer?
They both use religious imagery
‘Into the mouth of hell’
How could you compare Charge of the Light Brigade and Exposure?
One a patriotic view on war (cotlb)
One is a real negative view on war (Exposure)
How can you compare COTLB to Bayonet Charge?
They are both patriotic
What is the one of the main descriptive method used in Bayonet Charge?
Similes 'hung like Statuary' 'rolled like a flame' Like molten iron from the centre of his chest' 'numb as a smashed arm'
