Entombed warriors

Question 1

Topic sentence: Entombed Warriors

Answer 1

The insignificance of worldly possessions and status is used to explore how power, fame and desire prevent individuals from living a fulfilling life in Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s poem “Entombed Warriors”.

Question 2

BP1: Entombed Warriors

Answer 2

By personifying the earth as a powerful, caring and motherly figure in “The Earth Mother”, Noonuccal mocks the emperor’s attempt to become immortalised, juxtaposing the different spiritual beliefs of the Chinese and Indigenous cultures in their attitudes to life and nature - Indigeneity in its symbiotic relationship with nature, and the emperor’s battle against it.

Question 3

BP2: Entombed Warriors

Answer 3

The historical biblical allusion to the resurrection of Christ in “called in his artists to prepare for his resurrection” recalls the consistent power of death and mortality, and the universal desire for spiritual immortality.

Question 4

BP3: Entombed Warriors

Answer 4

The use of cumulative listing in “Swords, lances, spears, and battle axes in bronze, his artists made for him” builds connotations of power, whilst ironically, highlighting the emperors, fears and insecurities in the idea of mortality in the afterlife.

Question 5

BP4: Entombed Warriors

Answer 5

The irony of “by chance, a pick and shovel revealed his secret” emphasises the futility and absurdity of the Emperor’s belief that he can conquer death, his meticulous planning having been usurped by nature.

Question 6

BP5: Entombed Warriors

Answer 6

The use of anaphora “His fear, / His insecurity.” implies the extensive preparation for his death, illustrating the emperor’s lack of power and control, and his vulnerability stemming from his efforts to subvert it. This further emphasises the power of mortality and death to display one’s fears and insecurities.