Poetry Poppies Flashcards
‘spasms of paper red’
‘spasms of paper red’
‘spasms’-violent noun-literally means an abnormal movement of muscles, which cannot be controlled. It may suggest that the mother cannot control her life anymore as it is dictated by the outcomes of war and conflict. It may also be a metaphor which would be representative of how she imagines his death: violent and destructive.
‘paper’-adjective-. It may link to the ideas of life being weak and fragile. He is in a vulnerable position where she cannot protect him and he may easily lose his life.
‘red’-Noun. This is a reminder of his arguable death/her loss. The focus of this colour on the poppy is one evocative of blood which demonstrates how her language is rife with subtle imagery of death even before he departs.
‘the gelled/blackthorns’
‘the gelled/blackthorns’
The poem’s enjambment is important as it highlights the speaker’s anxiety, even as she tries to hide it in smooth, controlled lines. She is overwhelmed by her memories of her son alive and well – when she was able to shield him from the world.
This metaphor is symbolic of her son becoming a man. He wants to be independent/a man. He’s no longer soft and affectionate. There is a tone of regret as she resisted showing affection here/her maternal instinct and now she will not get the chance to do this.
The prickly/sharp nature of the ‘blackthorns’ suggest she is unable to show her care and love for him now he is older. more universal message for parents.
He has already become sharp/violent/militarized. She is unable to guard him from war.
‘released a song bird from its cage’
‘released a song bird from its cage.’
‘released’-verb-meaning to release from confinement/set free. It may reflect how she had to let her son go/be independent, going against her motherly instinct to protect and nurture him.
‘cage’-Whilst the metaphorical cage can give connotations of entrapment, for the mother this is a cage that she sees as a way to shield her child from the ills of the world. Now, once she has ‘set him free’, he does get hurt – this may have been avoided if he had remained in his ‘cage
Ceasura=Her hesitancy to open the door and let her son leave. Her boy seeks adventure but the mother knows the horrific and frightening truth about the world and war.
Structre/form/context
The mother is part of a textile business and adds in ideas as a motif.
The poem is a dramatic monologue to perhaps reflect that the death of the son has made the mother feel isolated and alone.
The poem uses a non-chronological order to demonstrate how the mother is living through her memories of her son – a happier time for her when she felt able to protect him.
