poppies Flashcards
what is poppies about
A mother recalls caring for her son and reminisces about his childhood before it is revealed that he is no longer there and it is implied that he has died in conflict.
context on author
Jane Weir (1963-) Weir was born in 1963 and lived in Northern Ireland during the troubles in the 1980’s. She has two sons which may have influenced her desire to explore what caused young boys to go to war and fight. Weir was also a textile designer which explains her use of related imagery.
significance of the time it was written
The poem comes from the collection commissioned by Carol Ann Duffy called “exit wounds”. Poppies grew in battlefields and became a symbol of remembrance in 1921, armistice Sunday also became a way to remember World War Two. Weir uses these symbols to establish from the outset that the poem is an act of remembrance
structure
opening
The poem sets the tone of remembrance from the start. Weir sets the scene of the poem at a memorial service to show the reader that the speaker and her son, who made the ultimate sacrifice, are victims of war.
There is no rhyme scheme or meter as well as a lot of variety in stanza length. This shows that these are the speakers uncensored thoughts through which she desperately tries to make sense of the situation. Weir’s use of free verse also creates the impression of the poem being an outpouring of emotion or a stream of consciousness which is common in modern poetry. The chaotic structure of the poem reflects the narrator’s lack of control over her emotions as well as the events she has endured and shows that they chaos created by war is much further reaching than the battlefield.
main idea 1
psychological effects of war
‘your playground voice catching on the wind’
shows the narrators physical loss,
sad metaphor
‘catching’ =fragility, delicate nature of his childhood, reminiscent, sense of longing,
fragility symbolised through wind shows the detachment, the desperation to hold on to a fading memory
main idea 2
= sensitivity
emotion
sadness
‘ the world overflowing like a treasure chest’
outpouring emotion portrayed by the narrator
world= hyperbolic
emphasis gravity of emotions
treasure = never ending abundance
main idea 3
‘crimped petals, spasms of red paper’
memory
spasms could also be symbolic of random outburts of longing, memory,
as well as graphic blood or unpredictability , negative word choices could show physical manifestation of distress
use of asyndetic listing shows how vivid and detailed the memory is to the narrator
‘crimped’= also shows how its slowly wearing away, crinkled
=juxtaposition?
