Poetry: Lament

Question 1

Shows juxtaposition of death and growth
Themes:
nature being corrupted

Answer 1

“For her eggs laid in their nest of sickness”
L/S:
- nest should be a place of safety where new life can grow
- but is described as sickness, which has connotations of death
- shows turtles habitat has been ruined by the actions of man

Question 2

Shows the mourning of nature in stanza 2
Themes:
corruption of nature

Answer 2

“For the cormorant in his funeral silk”
L/S:
- cormorant could be a symbol for nature as a whole
- ‘funeral silk’ shows the personification of nature, as its mourning the loss and corruption of nature

Question 3

In stanza 3 showing how the oil spills have a long-lasting effect of nature
Themes:
corruption of nature

Answer 3

“For the ocean’s lap with its mortal stain.”
L/S:
- metaphor of ‘mortal stain’ shows how this event will cause everlasting permanent effects on nature
- impossible to wash away

Question 4

Describing the whale in the 5th stanza
Themes:
corruption of nature

Answer 4

“The whales struck dumb by the missiles thunder”
L/S:
- whales have been silenced by the consequences of war
- creates a chilling tine that intelligent creatures are no longer able to communicate
- thunder is very powerful

Question 5

Use a civilian individual to show how soldiers are also affected by the war

Answer 5

“For Ahmed at the closed border./ For the soldier with his uniform on fire”
L/S:
- use of personal name to create sympathy and grief
- he is trapped at the closed border, just like the turtles and the cormorant, he can’t escape the effects of war

Question 6

Shows soldier naivety and how they are also victims of the war

Answer 6

“The boy fusilier who joined for the company,
The father’s sons, in it for the music”
L/S:
- innocent Desires ‘company’ and ‘music’
- naivety showing they are also victims

Question 7

Repetition at the start of each stanza

Answer 7

“For the…”
L/S:
- each stanza begins with ‘for the’ and every time it brings the reader back to the title ‘Lament’, this reinforces the readers grief connected with the events of the first gulf war
- lament means a passionate expression of grief and sorrow

Question 8

Progression of the sun in the last 2 stanzas
Themes:
corruption of nature

Answer 8

“The veiled sun…for the burnt earth and the sun put out”
L/S:
- going from ‘veiled’ to ‘put out’, rather than the sun being hidden it has been eliminated altogether
- this shows that the effects of conflict have moved from severe to irreversible
- ‘burnt earth’ suggests that nature lost the battle against humans and war