Kamikaze Flashcards
Who wrote Kamikaze?
Beatrice Garland
When was Kamikaze written?
2013
“a shaven head…”
“A shaven head full of powerful incantations and enough fuel for a one way journey into history”
What causes the pilot to change his mind?
Nature
What was a Kamikaze?
Japanese fighter pilots who sacrificed themselves
What is the pilot torn between?
His journey and his want to return.
What is the conflict?
The weight of society telling him to do it, and his inner conscience to return.
Where is the tight structure show?
All the stanzas have 6 lines.
What does the tight structure reflect?
The tight control of the military and the culture’s expectations.
What structure techniques juxtapose the supposedly tight control?
- Free verse
- Enjambment
What is free verse?
Poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular rythm
What do the free verse and enjambent suggest?
The free verse and enjambment contradict the tight control that we see in the length of the stanzas. This freedom of expression reflects the freedom the pilot wants to have.
“Green-blue…”
“Green-blue translucent sea”
Why does Garland describe the beauties of nature so much?
To show why he should not deprive himself and other men the chance to live and experience these wonders
What technique is “flashing silver as their bellies swiveled towards the sun”?
Silibance
Why does Garland use sibilance to describe the fishes?
To give them a sense of energy, highlighting the wonders of nature.
“a tuna…”
“A tuna, the dark prince, muscular, dangerous”
What does the tuna fish highlight?
Through the best efforts of the pilot the tuna fish is the most powerful thing in the poem-perhaps the poet is suggesting true power belongs to nature.
Why is the noun “safe” repeated?
It hints at the mindset of the pilot
Why are negative words contrasted with positive words?
To reflect the inner conflict the pilot has between his inner choice and national expectations.
What is “bunting”?
Decorations, celebrations
What does “incantations” suggest about the pilot?
He has been brain washed into going on the mission.
As following the incantations the pilot sees the “fishing boats strung out like bunting” suggest about the pilot?
The power of nature has caused him to overcome the spells and the brainwashing those in Japan have caused him to have.
