Lament Flashcards
Repetetitive Pattern at the start of every stanza
’ For the’ - at the start of every stanza
- establishes the extent of the mourning and damage as it is repeated so many times
- this makes it seem like there has been infinite amounts of damage done
Progression of Lament from Start to finish
Start of the poem:
‘For the green turtle with her pulsing burden:’
the end of the poem:
‘For vengeance, and the ashes of language’
as the poem progresses there is more death and the consequences of war go from being relatively small to extreme
presents how war is uncontrollable and extremely destructive
Description of Cormorant (bird) after the war
’ the cormorant in his funeral silk/ the veil of iridescence on the sand’
- visual imagery using positive/good/luxurious material silk to reveal something lethal/bad
- deathly image of funeral gives hopelessness to cormorants situation
- historical context, crude oil spills in Iraq
Language Destruction
the ashes of language’
- Metaphor at end of the poem, no more words to describe war
- war has used up all the grief of the people
- ‘Ashes of Language’ presents on apolapytic tone to war and how it can destroy everything even words - showing the end of human society - how can any culture survive without language.
Description of the effect of the war on the ocean
‘For the ocean’s lap with its mortal stain’
- ‘mortal’ in this context means deadly presenting how the effects of war are irreversible
- Furthermore it personifies the ocean making the reader empathise with it
Description of the oil in the sand
‘the veil of iridescence on the sand,the shadow on the sea’
- shadows are black they block the sun from the sea, so the air is black with smoke - LNK to 700 oil well set alight in Kuwait
- shadow - you cant run away from you shadow emphasing the extent of waste and destruction
Description of the natural features of the earth
Scalded Ocean’, ‘Blazing Well’
- Juxtaposition of water and fire show how war is unnatural as it causes the clashing of nature
Describing numerous number of animals that have been affected by war
‘For the hook-beaked turtles,
the dugong and the dolphin,
the whale struck dumb by the missile’s thunder’
- shocking imagery of a creature that is smart and normally sings being ‘struck dumb’
- A list of multiple,innocent animals here siggests there are far more species that she can mention emphasing the extent of the damage on nature
turtle start of the poem
‘pulsing burden’
- continous verb ‘pulsing’ has connotations of life through the rhythm of heart beat builds a sense or urgency. ‘burden’ adds conflict
- images mirroring our responsibility but also to the environemnt.
- -personification of the turtle makes it more emotuve
When the author describes the different people that are involved in the war
‘the gunsmith and the armourer’
- juxtaposition of both ends of the war
- gunsmith makes weapons, armourer defends against weapons
- damaging to all sides
