Eavan Boland “ The War Horse “

Question 1

Aloof remarks to death and suffering a privileged outlook on the less fortunate boland includes us in the poem

Answer 1

“Nothing unusual” “why should we care “

Question 2

Monosyllabic to impact the reader dramatically she is comparing the death of nature to the death of a human the beautiful and natural plants juxtapose the grim and almost hurtful depiction of mutilated bodies

Answer 2

“If a rose , hedge , a crocus are uprooted like corpses , remote , crushed , mutilated “

Question 3

Onomatopeia -Haunting image - a sense of disquiet - speaking to the aural sense

Answer 3

“This dry night , nothing unusual
About the clip clop casual “

Question 4

Allusion to violence- a hint at the underlying complexity of/ meaning of the poem (enjambment)

Answer 4

“Of distant interest like a maimed limb “

Question 5

Imagery of a defiled piece of nature by this horse it is now voiceless

Answer 5

“Only a crocus ,its bulbous head
Blown from growth , one of the screamless dead “

Question 6

Rhetorical question - ironic tone -

Answer 6

“But we, we are safe ; why should we care ?”

Question 7

Simile - depiction of the separation

Answer 7

“Like a rumour of war “

Question 8

Reference to Irish history
The past is a place of violence boland hints at the fact we can revert back to violence , our sense of security is fragile and illusionary and that is why we should care

Answer 8

“Recalling days / of burned countryside , illicit braid : A cause ruined before , a world betrayed “