kamikaze Flashcards
structure
6 line per stanza structure. tight struture can be seen to reflect the tight control of the military and the culture and its expectations of what this person should do. to contrast this tight control the poem is written in both free verse and contains numerous examples of enjambment. this freedom of expression reflects the freedom the pilot wants to have. the conflict between personal thoughts and sense of natural duty are reflected in the conflict and the contrast between structual points.
“her father embarked at sunrise”
“sunrise” is an image of nature but it also links to japan which is known as the land of the rising sun. a rising sun flag is the military flag used primarily by the mlitary force in japan in this one image of sunrise we see the power of nature and the power of man conflicting eachother.
“green blue translucent sea”/”the dark shoals of fishes flashing sliver as their bellies siwivel towards”
natural imagey, sibilance used creates a sense of energy and smooth movements reflecting the natural wonder of the fish. the beauty of nature shows us why he should not deprive himself and hundreds of other men on the ship of the intense pleasure of nature.
“a tuna, the dark prince,muscular,dangerous”
the metaphor dark prince coupled with the adjective “muscular” and “dangerous” creates a threatning intense powerful image and the poems first full stop appears after this line signialling its importance that we need to stop and think about this suggesting that the power belongs to nature.maybe its the relisation of this that cause the pilot to return home, theres much more to the world that he perceives, the message of this moment is the relisation of how unimportant human life is when contrasted with the vast array of nature
“built cairns of pearl grey peebles”
“cairns” is a pile of stones often used as a landmarker for a grave.the imagery of death reminds the reader what is at stake for the pilot. there are lots of negative words which serve as a constant reminder of the fate the pilot is heading for. “dark” “turbulent”, “dangerous”, “die”. these words are contrasted with very positive words “sunrise”, “safe”,”laughed”,”loved”. theres a mix of negative and positive language in the poem reflecting the inner conflict the pilot has between national duty and personal conviction.
“father boat safe-yes,grandfathers boat-safe”
repition of “safe” is placed at the end of the line twice. the repition hints at the mindset of the pilot. its not necessarily him himself wants to be safe. he remembers the time as a kid he waiting on the shore for his fathers safe return. symbolising the pilot.
“he must have wondered which had been the better way to die”
even after making the choice of turning back he had metaphorically died anyways. he wonders wheather the literal death as a kamikaze would have been better than the emotional death his experiencing since he returned. its as if he truly is dead as hes treated as a ghost
contexts
soceity in the post war japan was extremly rigid. social exchanges were governed by an intricate and often startling set of rules and regulations. shame played a big role in social interactions so pilots who returned home were shunned and ostricised.
