Poetry - Part 2 (7 Poems)

Question 1

CONTEXT

Half-caste

Answer 1

• Agard moved from guyana to england
• guyanese father + portugese mother
• explores issues to do w/ race

Question 2

FORM

Half-caste

Answer 2

perspective, ‘excuse me’:
* previous politness in face of racism
* shifting to sarcasm OR
* shifting to a challenge to those who are racist
* ‘ex’ - harsh constant

Question 3

STRUCTURE

Half-caste

Answer 3

short start & end stanza, long middle stanza:
* start and end stanza r 3 lines, sense that resolution has been found
* middle stanzas - rant like, passive stream of concious
* start stanza - empethetically introduces topic

Question 4

LANGUAGE

Half-caste

Answer 4

juxtaposition ‘light an shadow’:
* aspects of speakers character are at odds
* reflects parentage
* feels contrasting abt himself
* ends with ‘whole’ - reader gaining sense of self at end

Question 5

LANGUAGE 2

Half-caste

Answer 5

carribean dialect, ‘yu’:
* dialect relfects speaker
* speaker can take ownership of his own identity

Question 6

CONTEXT

No Problem

Answer 6

• he likes to use parody format
• likes use of humorous and hopeful tone
• work is often lyrical & rhythmic
• shaped by political & environmental movements

Question 7

FORM

No Problem

Answer 7

two stanzas:
* sense of divide - mirrors content
* first stanza: positive, ‘versatile’
* second stanza: thoughtful of effects of racism, ‘affect/ As he get older’
* humour unifies 2 stanzas

Question 8

STRUCTURE

No Problem

Answer 8

ABCB rhyme scheme:
* not wholly reliant on ABCB - mirrors disconnection and divide between ppl and himself bc of racism
* more natural + carribean dialect - speaker is casually talking to reader
* subtle half rhymes, ‘stunt’ & ‘brunt’

Question 9

LANGUAGE

No Problem

Answer 9

direct address, ‘yu’:
* aligns reader w/ ppl who havent experienced racism
* reminds reader racists arent diff class of ppl - reader may hold racist beliefs - interrogation of reader’s beliefs
* speaker having conversatino with reader

Question 10

STRUCTURE 2

No Problem

Answer 10

repetition, ‘I am not de problem’:
* speaker reassuring himself that he is not the issue
* refrences criminalisaiton of black ppl by common media - counters the portrayal

Question 11

CONTEXT

Catrin

Answer 11

• has 3 kids
• writes abt nature + uses natural imagery
• poem stemmed from her daughter asking to skate for 1 more hour

Question 12

FORM

Catrin

Answer 12

bipartite, 2 clear stanzas:
* 1st stanza - past tense, centres around memory of birth
* 2nd stanza - present tense, centres around conflict between mother and daughter
* emphasises time passed between bitrh and present
* increasing speration between mother and daughter

Question 13

STRUCTURE

Catrin

Answer 13

enjambment, ‘Of our struggle to become/ Separate’:
* reflects changing dynamic in relationship between mother/child
* emphasises ‘separate’ - establishes themes of distance & seperation

Question 14

LANGUAGE

Catrin

Answer 14

direct address vs collective pronouns, ‘you’ + ‘I’ vs ‘we’:
* juxtaposes dependence of young baby vs independence of teen
* 1st stanza - collective used, shows closeness of baby and mother
* 2nd stanza - separation, sometimes pronouns of speaker and daughter seperated by enjambment, diff pronouns on diff lines

Question 15

LANGUAGE 2

Catrin

Answer 15

continous metaphor, ‘rope’:
* umbilical cord - importance of physical closeness w/ children + emotional closeness
* weaker in 2nd stanza compared to first stanza
* ‘old rope’ - ‘old’ refers to impact of time on relationship

Question 16

CONTEXT

Poppies

Answer 16

• weir has 2 sons - wants to explore feeling of child going to war
• lived thru ‘the troubles’ of 1980s in ireland

Question 17

CONTEXT

Poppies

Answer 17

• weir has 2 sons - wants to explore feeling of child going to war
• lived thru ‘the troubles’ of 1980s in ireland

Question 18

FORM

Poppies

Answer 18

dramatic monologue:
* second person to directly address son
* son never replies - absencce of son, implies death and loss
* second person - focuses on mother

Question 19

STRUCTURE

Poppies

Answer 19

free verse:
* uncensored thoughts to convery emotion
* outpouring of emotion - lack of control over emotions, chaos created by war, doesn’t just effect battlefield, affects everyone
* stream of conciousness

Question 20

LANGUAGE

Poppies

Answer 20

domestic imagery vs violence, ‘without a winter coat or reinforcments’:
* lack of protection from the cold - violence effects her everyday life
* she needs reinforcments to see her memorial of son - too much emotion
* war prevents everyday life

Question 21

LANGUAGE 2

Poppies

Answer 21

unconventional bravery, ‘I was brave’:
* opposes coventional ideas of bravery
* acting bravely by carrying on with everyday life
* brave for sending her son to war

Question 22

CONTEXT

Belfast Confetti

Answer 22

• carson writes abt the Troubles & violence in n. ireland
• carson got shot at 1969, survived
• troubles - unionists (yes to UK) vs republicans (yes to ireland) = lots of violence = bomb attacks

Question 23

FORM

Belfast Confetti

Answer 23

lack of meter/rhythm:
* mirrors confusion and disoreintation of bombing
* presents more reality
* chaotic

Question 24

STRUCTURE

Belfast Confetti

Answer 24

untraditional punctuation & incorrect grammar:
* violent conflict effects communication
* blocked communcation between 2 sides
* semantic field of punctuation, ‘asterix’, ‘colon’
* end, ‘fullisade of question-marks’ - war leads to speaker questioning everytihng around them
* random punctuation - chaos

Question 25

# LANGUAGE Belfast Confetti

Answer 25

word choice, 'labyrinth': * sinister - mirrors fear felt by the population * confusing - no longer know their own cities * opening word, 'suddenly' - active adverb, poem opens in the middle of action

Question 26

# STRUCTURE 2 Belfast Confetti

Answer 26

asyndetic listing, 'balaclava, raglan, inkerman': * increases pace of poem * sense of panic & urgency * refernces crimean war - references historic war, frustration individuals haven't learnt lessons from history the effects of war

Question 27

# CONTEXT What Were They Like?

Answer 27

* author had lack of formal education = accesible poems * author had intensely political poem * vietnam war - commy north vs us south * took more than 3 mil lives

Question 28

# FORM What Were They Like?

Answer 28

numbered question format: * mimics academic research proposal * contrasts delicate materials, 'jade & silver' & quiet beauty of vietnam

Question 29

# STRUCTURE What Were They Like?

Answer 29

two speakers, questioner & responder: * responder addresses questioner as 'sir' = power imbalance * implies the questioner may be american & person responding is local * ambigous tone of the poem

Question 30

# LANGUAGE What Were They Like?

Answer 30

natural imagery, 'paddles', 'peaceful clouds': * pre-war vietnam = rural & peaceful * 'jade & ivory' - precious materials * lyrical and idyllic * timeless peace & tranquility * first speaker - mysterious & oriental * second speaker - mundane

Question 31

# LANGUAGE 2 What Were They Like?

Answer 31

tone: * delicate & beautiful images contrast w/ shocking images * sadness, elegaic, heaviness - mourns pre-war vietnam * 'echoes', 'moths' - ghosts & ghostly phenomena * 'who can say' - conjecture, reflects haunting absence of vietnamese ppl

Question 32

# CONTEXT War Photographer

Answer 32

* poet has interest in fragility of human life * several major conflicts across the globe - cold war * war photography was dangerous - many were often killed & abducted

Question 33

# FORM War Photographer

Answer 33

free verse: * mimics speaker speaking - not filtering thoughts * might represent the free flow of info from war photographers

Question 34

# STRUCTURE War Photographer

Answer 34

use of tenses: * 1st stanza = present - confessing false nature of profession * next stanzas r past, 2 & 3 juxtaposed - drunk girls/girl in conflict country * 5 - summarises key message, 'the almost-smile'/'a blood stain on a wall'

Question 35

# LANGUAGE War Photographer

Answer 35

sibilance, 'silk' & 'staggering down some devastated street': * 'silk' - 2nd stanza, echoes fizzing of champagne or giggling of the girls * 'staggering down some devastated street' - 3rd stanza, sinister & evil war, whistle of falling bombs, sound of objects shattering on landscape

Question 36

# STRUCTURE 2 War Photographer

Answer 36

enjabment & caesura, 'the little mother/the almost smile': * heavily used - causes sense of unease * unsteady flow of poem makes reader feel insecure, like those in conflict * combine to create sense of being cut off * 'almost-smile' - hapiness being cut off