poppies

Question 1

what does the enjambment highlight in poppies (structure)

Answer 1

• used to convey how overwhelming her emotions were particularly in the simile “the world overflowing / like a treasure chest” - taken aback in this moment as they transcend the domestic safety of their home & enter the outside world - gives impression of the outside intruding in
• alt, symbol of a “treasure chest” could be an allusion to the conflicting attitudes between mothers & their sons. For many young boys , the notion of going to war advertised and idealistic + exciting opportunity of adventure

Question 2

what does the caesura highlight (structure)

Answer 2

• visual & audible depiction of emotional restraint - mother does not want to completely submit herself to fear - weir captivates the bravery of the mother through doing this , she pays homage to a type of bravery often overlooked during the war - bravery of families who had to say goodbye

Question 3

D A B O Y B B Y B
(Effects of war, loss and absence)

Answer 3

Disrupting a blockade of yellow bias binding around your blazer

• the brightness of the poppy disrupting the solemn order of the son’s uniform, could be a reflection of how war disrupts family life.
• “blazer” creates an image of a school child, suggesting the narrator’s longing for her son to come back as well as longing for the control she had over the son’s safety.
• The metaphorical use of “blockade”, double entendre = Weir is a textile designer, so she is referring to the embroidery but also referring to the militaristic definition.
• The ‘blockade of bias binding’ around his shoulder could emphasize how he’s blinded by his patriotism. The mother may feel as if she cannot communicate her feelings to him because his country’s ‘bias’ to going into war is almost a physical barrier between her and her son.
plosive alliteration of “b” = ominous reminder that son is facing extreme violence at war

Question 4

T W O L A T C. I. (Effects of war, propaganda)

Answer 4

the world overflowing like a treasure chest. Intoxicated.

• can also link back to war propaganda, especially in the World Wars, when fighting was presented as a unique and exciting opportunity in which men would be rewarded with riches but, of course, the opposite was true. This, in turn, can be linked to the later use of ‘intoxicated’, demonstrating that the son has been poisoned by the war propaganda and becomes enveloped in the desire to fight.
  • By comparing war to a “treasure chest” -makes it seem fantasy-like, almost like a quest - highlights how warped the son’s view of war was & displays his initial excitement.
  • alternatively, could be interpreted as the mother being overwhelmed by her feelings & unable to contain them.

Question 5

R A S F I C. L A S D F F T P T

Answer 5

‘Released a songbird from its cage. Later a single dove flew from the pear tree.’

• could symbolize how his soul is being released into the afterlife - mother is finally accepting loss, an attempt to overcoming emotional attachment to son

• could also symbolize her releasing all of her emotions out finally.

• songbird gives off connotations of happiness & tranquility, showing beautiful relationship between her & her son, as well as the wonderful memories, which she had to let go when the son went to war.

• “songbird” suggests that she still views her son as something fragile, something to be protected & yet she still lets him go. a sense of reluctance as he will forever be her precious child that she longs to shelter.

• . The songbird is shortly replaced with “a single dove”. - gives off religious connotations that her son had found peace & was now with God, he’s died.

• doves are meant to be in pairs, so the solitary one emphasizes her loneliness now that her son (the other dove) is gone /dead.