Flag John Agard Flashcards
Key context of Flag
-The poem “Flag” by John Agard is a reflection on the symbolism and power that a national flag holds within a society.
-Born in 1949, John Agard is a Guyanese playwright, poet, and children’s writer who is known for his thought-provoking and often playful poetry that explores themes of culture, identity, and social justice.
-This particular poem likely serves as a commentary on nationalism and the way in which a flag, a mere piece of cloth, can invoke strong emotions and actions from individuals and collectives.
What is the poem about: Summary:
-The poem discusses the paradox of how a simple piece of cloth, a flag, can inspire such powerful and often contradictory actions and emotions in people.
-It can make a nation unite together in admiration or make individuals act bravely or recklessly.
-The flag can also serve as a symbol that resembles those who fought for the country.
-The poem also questions the morality of people who, because of pure devotion to a country, will turn a blind eye to any immoral activity due to their total love for the country.
(highlights how nationalism can be positive, however when people are too nationalistic they can ignore the immorality in a country)
Key themes of poem
Nationalism, external conflict (due to war taking place, or hate crime etc ), internal conflict (cause people to behave in ways they may not normally)
“What’s that fluttering in a breeze? / It’s just a piece of cloth”
-The poem opens by setting a casual tone that contrasts with the heavy symbolism of a flag.
-The language technique here is a rhetorical question followed by an understatement to emphasise the contrast between the flag’s physical reality and its symbolic weight.
“that brings a nation to its knees”
-This line uses hyperbole (exaggeration) to illustrate the immense power of the flag as a national symbol, which is capable of demanding respect.
-It is also capable of completely ruining a country due to countries going to war if a country’s feeling of nationalism is too strong.
“that makes the guts of men grow bold”
-Personification attributes human qualities to the flag, suggesting it has the power to inspire courage which could become too much and make men do things they wouldn’t normally do, ie. go to war.
“that dares the coward to relent”
This phrase implies that the flag and nationalism can even convert cowards to be daring and bold for their country.
“that will outlive the blood you bleed”
This metaphor explains how the flag which is a symbol of nationalism outlives the mortality of human life highlighting its power of its ideals.
“Then blind your conscience to the end”
-This metaphor highlights how people’s feeling of nationalism would blind their conscience and cause somebody to do things that are not normal such as going to war and killing so many people.
-Highlights the paradox of very strong nationalistic views.
-Every stanza starts with a question:
-Hypophora as the poet is answering the questions himself. Helps the reader to carefully think about the positives and negatives of nationalism.
-Each stanza question starts with ‘What’s that’ but last stanza starts with ‘How can I’:
The pronoun ‘I’ shows further the speaker’s own view and shows his own thoughts about a flag
