Poppies Flashcards
Who wrote poppies
Jane Weir
Context
A mother of a son who has grown up and gone to war
The poem contains clues that this is more a modern conflict, however the poem ends at the memorial suggesting the son died at war or has not returned and is missed by his mother who fears the worst.
Poem contains a range of emotions
There is genuine sadness but also pride.
Ideas of memories
The poem is based very heavily around the idea of poppies as memorials and therefore the idea of memory. The poem flashes back to key moments of the life of the mother and son.
Themes
The poem partially looks at conflict because of the nature of the son going to war, however it looks at conflict more from the perspective of those it leaves behind and the emotions of families. It is a behind the scenes view of conflict rather than addressing the conflict itself. There is a level of conflict int he mothers emotions, pride, fear, sadness
Structure
Monologue in four stanzas and no rhyme scheme
Stanzas are structures along the events in the life of mother and child
The poem uses a lot of encampment and familiar nouns to enhance the idea of natural tone and the mothers voice
“Poppies”
Symbolism as the poppy has symbolic links to violence, death and memory. It is quite foreboding in this poem
“I pinned one into your lapel”
Pronouns “I” and “you” emphasises the intimacy and closely of the speaker and the subject
“Spasms of paper red, disrupting a blockade of yellow bias binding around your blazer”
Blockade is a military reference to blocking, perhaps of emotion.
Alliteration also used with bias, binding, emphasises bustle, mothering over her son
“I wanted to graze my nose across the top of your nose, play at being eskimos like we did when you were little”
Aside, the personnel anecdote creates a sense of intimacy and human realism in the speakers voice. Juxtaposed with the military side of her son
“All my words flattened, rolled, turned into felt”
Flattened , rolled , turned
Power of three, reflects the way the mother is tongue tied and doesn’t know what to say, she is proud of her son but also doesn’t want him to go
“As I walked with you, to the front door, threw it open”
Symbolic, idea of throwing the door open and setting her son free. The door represents her own acceptance of his choice.
“Released a song bird from its cage”
Metaphor connotes that he is like a beautiful caged creature and needs to be set free. Implies that she understands this included free to make mistakes and be harmed.
“On reaching the top of the hill I traced the inscriptions on the war memorial”
Physical senses, implies the intimacy between mother and sin, connotes the tactile hypersensitivity and jumbled emotions
