Poppies

Question 1

Poppies: Brief summary

Answer 1

A mother describes the experience of her son leaving home to join the army. She reminisces on memories of his childhood, yet the tone becomes increasingly sombre as the narrator implies her son has lost his life in battle.

Question 2

Poppies: Context (5)

Answer 2

• Weir has two sons herself which likely drove her empathy towards a mother who had to say goodbye to a son leaving for war.
• Spending several years in Belfast, Weir lived through the Troubles of the 1980s - a period defined by conflict and violence.
• Poppies became a symbol of remembrance in 1921 after they grew on battlefields that had been used during World War One.
• Being published in 2009, the First World War would’ve been fleeting from people’s living memory; Weir may have seen it as her duty to keep enforcing the importance of remembrance.
• Her work typically grapples an array of social, historical and political themes.

Question 3

Poppies: “blazer”

Answer 3

There is an extended metaphor throughout the poem which parallels the notion of going to war with a comparatively mundane departure of leaving for school. This is made apparent through the noun “blazer” which in this sense represents military uniform however it would more commonly be associated with school uniform. Through this, Weir translates the act of losing a child to battle into an experience her readership would more easily be able to relate to, evoking a stronger sense of empathy.

Question 4

Poppies: “Sellotape bandaged around my hand”

Answer 4

The imagery of “Sellotape bandaged around my hand” is a domestic act of collecting hairs and lint from the surface of clothes. However, the verb “bandaged” is an allusion to injury which likely stems from her anxiety that he may be wounded in the war. Alternatively, this could convey her emotional injuries; she has “bandaged” herself to cope. Moreover, a “bandage” is merely a temporary cover; it does not heal wounds thus it is only superficial protection.

Question 5

“steeled the softening of my face”

Answer 5

The metaphor “steeled the softening of my face” is a sibilant depiction of a mother trying to put a “brave face” on. She is actively trying to fight the impulse to outwardly advertise her anxiety. This sibilance could represent the tearful sniffling sound made when trying to repress crying - it forces the reader to mimic this sound much like the speaker’s emotions are forcing an emotional response.

Question 6

“released a song bird from its cage”

Answer 6

The image of a “songbird” is a common type of poetry, the birdsong is poetic. The act of releasing “a songbird from its cage” is seemingly unorthodox which exposes it as metaphorical. The mother is perhaps turning to poetry to assuage her emotions - she finds this a cathartic act which frees her anxiety and fears.

Question 7

Poppies: Embjambment

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Poppies: Caesura

Answer 8

A visual and audible depiction of emotional restraint - the 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 - the bravery of the families who had to say goodbye.

Question 9

Poppies: Dramatic monologue (5)

Answer 9

• It is a dramatic monologue which allows every aspect of the poem to be imbued with personal emotions.
• It is written in the second person and directed at her son, the suggestion of an absent listener amplifies the sense of loss and mourning.
• It also gives a voice to those who were generally overlooked during the war - the mothers and families of soldiers still went through traumatic emotions, but public attention was directed towards the soldiers themselves.
• There is no regular rhyme or rhythm (it is written in free verse), and the stanza length is also irregular which makes the poem seem conversational and intimate.
• The reader is given the impression that the speaker is struggling to control, organise and understand her emotions.