poppies Flashcards
1
Q
stanza 1:
“blazer”
A
- reference to school uniform, shows how he is still too young to go to war
- shows how she did not get enough time to spend with her son since he is so young
2
Q
stanza 1:
“spasms… red…”
A
- war metaphor, foreshadows what will happen to his later
- refers to the pain that the mother feels
3
Q
stanza 2:
“smoothed down.. rounded up as many cat hairs”
A
- she still cleans up after her son, shows how he misses him and still sees him as a child
4
Q
stanza 2:
“blackthorns of your hair”
A
- image of nature, suggesting his purity
- thorny, suggesting the child has picked a hairstyle that would discourage the mother from touching it
- metaphorical of the son wanting to break away from the bonds of motherhood by going to war
5
Q
stanza 3:
“a song bird from its cage”
A
- symbolic of how she is releasing the child into the world
- reference to a song bird, shows how it is silent without her son, emphasises how lonely she feels
6
Q
stanza 3:
“like a treasure chest”
A
- the son is expecting something rewarding from the war, but he might be looking for something that does not exist
- shows how naïve and immature the son is
7
Q
stanza 3:
“my stomach busy making tucks”
A
- dressmaking metaphor, the idea of stomach folding suggests how nervous she is
8
Q
explain the structure of poppies
A
no specific form in the poem, shows how she is exploring her emotions throughout the poem
