Kamikaze Flashcards
“Her father embarked at sunrise”
Imagery - Japan as the land of the rising sun - linking culture
“a flask of water, a samurai sword / in the cockpit, a shaven head”
Listing - creating intimacy between the character + reader
“powerful incantations”
Propaganda - his belief!
“she thought, / recounting it later to her children”
Aside - the daughter is thinking of his reasons for not continuing
“the little fishing boats strung out like bunting on a green-blue translucent sea”
- Natural imagery - reflects the power of nature
- Simile - emphasising the beauty of nature
“like a huge flag waved”
Simile - linking to military and his journey
“in a figure of eight”
Imagery - power of nature, infinity
“shoals” “silver” “swivelled” “sun”
Sibilance - draws out the infinite power of nature
“built cairns of pearl-grey pebbles”
Her father’s memory of nature forced his decision to turn back
“the turbulent inrush of breakers / bringing their father’s boat safe”
Her father is fated just like the fish who will eventually be caught
“-yes, grandfather’s boat-“
Aside - speaking to the next generation
“shore, salt-sodden, awash”
Listing - dark and dangerous suggesting that nature has more power
“a tuna, the dark prince, muscular, dangerous.”
Threatening, powerful, true power belongs to nature
“Although he came back”
“as though he no longer existed”
- “he” pronoun, nameless
- Shamed
“we too learned”
“no longer the father we loved”
“he must have wondered / which had been the better way to die.”
- Highlights the conflict that he died in the eyes of his family
- Tone of regret and sympathy
What is the structure of Kamikaze?
- Contrasting structure
- Strict 6 line structured stanzas, like verses, shows tight military control
- 7 stanzas
- Free verse - which represents his need for freedom
What is the big idea in Kamikaze?
The real conflict is between the rules of society “honour” and the will to survive. Either way, the character dies: in the eyes of the family, if not body. The poem explores the futility of trying to avoid fate/destiny.
What do fish represent in Kamikaze?
People like the pilot who are caught in the net of society’s expectations
Who wrote Kamikaze?
Beatrice Garland
