Poppies

Question 1

Context of Poppies

Answer 1

“three days before Armistics Sunday” (use of temporal deixis) - poppies grew in battlefields & became a symbol of rememberance in 1921. Armistic sunday became a way to remember WWII

Originally, poppies were thought to have looked like a bullet wound, hence being a symbol for rememberance day, commemorating soldiers who died/wounded in battle

Question 2

Key quotes of Poppies

Answer 2

“I pinned one onto your lapel… spasms of paper red…“ - the asyndetic list shows how detailed the mother’s memory of her last moments with her son is (almost cherishing this memory). Dark, painful imagery of “spasms” & “red” hinting at the possible danger her son is being put in
“Graze my nose across the tip of your nose” - a soft, gentle action BUT the harshness of the military term “graze” creates a painful undertone. Foreshadows the pain of war
“Overflowing like a treasure chest” - metaphor, outpouring emotions of the mother OR son’s excitment for his future
“Sellotape bandaged around my hand” - juxtaposes the imagery of an ordinary domestic item like “sellotape” being used to remove cat hairs with the imagery of a bandage and injury.
“Steeled the softening of my face” - mother hardening/hiding her emotions, expressed the painful nature of war (not only to soldiers but to their families) “I was brave”

Question 3

Form of Poppies

Answer 3

Poem is a Dramatic monologue - speaker uses a 2nd person narrative to directly address their son. However, he never replies…(son’s voice is absent throughout the poem) implying he is no longer there (died at war)

No rhyme = no humour or happiness. Adding to the semantic field of sadness and loss

Question 4

Structure of Poppies

Answer 4

Free verse - there is no rhyme scheme and consistent stanza lengths - shows that these are the speakers uncensored thoughts through which she desperately tries to console herself.

Also creates the impression that the mother is pouring out her emotions as a stream of consciousness (as the poem is in the natural rhythms of speech).
The chaotic lack of rhyme reflects the mothers lack of control over her emotions

Enjambment gives the sentences a fragmented feeling, almost incomplete much like the mother’s time with her son. As a result, she is hesitant to let this memory go

The structure of the poem emphasises the speaker’s maternal connection to her son - mixing memories of him as a child & memories of him leaving, making the time frame of the poem slightly ambiguous