Poppies Flashcards
‘released a song bird from its cage.’
metaphor - describes the mother letting her son out into the world as he needs to be free, yet she fears this
she is a mother of sons herself
‘song bird’ has positive and calming imagery and this contrasts the thought of his horrific death and she uses positive imagery to block this - lived through Troubles
full stop suggests finality as she releases the memory of her child
‘song’ relates to the end of the poem as she wants to hear the ‘playground voice’
dramatic monologue in first person allows a clear insight into the feelings of the mother and is something not usually considered - emotive
‘Hoping to hear your playground voice catching on the wind’
verb ‘hoping’ displays denial and she wants to go back to when he was a child and was safe
reference to his childhood - will always be her baby and symbolises his care-free nature
metaphor shows he is far away
end of poem and she listens for her son, but receives silence, which emphasises the loss and that he is gone
enjambment shows how she is absorbed in her own emotions and has lost control of her emotions
second person narrative voice - talks to son but he doesn’t answer
‘All my words flattened, rolled, turned into felt’
permanent change and impact of conflict
she feels helpless and cannot process her emotions and put them into words. she believes everything she has said to her son is now useless
metaphor - she uses sewing to explain horrific things as she cannot put it into words herself - link to poet as textile designer and stereotypes of motherhood
asyndetic listing of past tense verbs emphasises that he is merely something of the past (triadic structure)
tells a story through clear narrative structure and attempts to make sense of the situation and keep his memory alive
