Mametz Wood Flashcards

1
Q

they tended the land back into itself

A

cycle of life
Earth can recover, but soldiers can’t

Image of tending

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

A chit of bone, the China plate of a shoulder blade

A

Objectifying
Emphasises fragility
War stolen humanity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

The relic of a finger

A

Body of a soldier is a relic because patriotism so yeah

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Blown and broken bird’s egg of a skull

A

Fragility subverts the readers expectations

Alliteration illustrates fragility
Avian -> they would free but they were still eggs so they couldn’t

Eggs -> innocent, didn’t know what they signed up

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Twenty men buried together in one Long grave

A

Going to war together, dying together
Unity , loyalty, patriotism

Volta- descriptions of earth -> people.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

The notes they had sung

A

High morality and joviality

Avian imagery

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

CONTEXT

A

modern tv show presenter, actor
welsh
About battle of sommes, 5 day battle

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Form

A

Tercets
Third person - distance and detachment. To think directly about what happened is too painful?

Complex sentences, enjambement create a reflective tone. There was so much death and destruction, the number of lives lost

Caesura split up descriptions of body parts, symbolising the obliteration fo the soldiers

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Structure

A

Chronological, linear

Fifth stanza -> description of a mass grave

Thoughtful tone and slow pace are constant, as well as images of the past- emphasises lasting effect of war and time it takes the earth the heal

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Personification

A

The earth is personified both as someone who needs healing and as someone guarding the soldiers’ memory- emphasises how long it takes to recover from the damage war causes
Stressed the importance of remembering those who fought

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Images of brokeness

A

Detailed injured body parts in the second stanza and later descriptions of the damage to the skeletons - shows how war can dehumanise people. Allusion to how men are used as inanimate objects/pawns for political gain

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Contrasting images

A

Violent images of war
Images of human fragility

Soldiers humanity, horrifying conditions
Inhumanity in forcing men to kill other men
How men are victims of those in command

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Nesting machine guns

A

Juxtaposition of life and death imagery

War is a part of human nature?

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

The earth stands sentinel

A

The earth preserves the bones in a determined and calm way

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Like a wound working a foreign body to the surface of the skin

A

Prolonged simile of the earth being wounded

Soldiers are the foreign body - they shouldn’t be there, they’ve died too young

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Wasted young

A

Refers to both the decaying bodies and the lives that were lost too soon

Oxymoron - depressing image

17
Q

‘them’

A

Gives the soldiers anonymity

War has taken away their individuality

18
Q

Dropped open

A

Soldiers were screaming, horrified

19
Q

With this unearthing, slipped from their absent tongues

A

Grotesque imagery

Discovering the soldiers gave them new voice

Slipped - gentle

20
Q

Socketed heads

A

Gross

21
Q

skeleton paused mid dance-macabre

A

Dark humour
Soldiers were living with joviality
Dance and dead juxtaposition

22
Q

Broken mosaic of bond

A

Illustrates obliteration

Juxtaposition between beauty and decorative nature of mosaic between deathly imagery