Poppies Flashcards
Structure
Weir adopting a free verse with stanzas of different lengths implies the effect of war is overwhelming, similarly, the free verse with no rigid rhyme allows the emotions of the mother to flow more freely and thus is more enjoyable to the reader thus making the effect of conflict memorable. This could also be interpreted as the son is free to explore the world leaving the mother devasted in the process
Poppies also uses enjambment through the stanzas possibly to reflect the heart-break experienced by the mother as she sets her son off to war. This continuation also allows the reader to feel the suffocation of the mother and her mixed emotions at her son leaving.
use of the dramatic monologue allows us to only see the effects that conflict has on the mother by taking away the sons voice
the cyclical structure “armistice Sunday” and “hoping to hear your playground voice catch in the wind” shows how the mother is forever trapped in mourning until her son comes back to her. Highlights the unbearable sense o the loss she feels and how she is forced to experience it on a daily basis
Context
poem part of the collection “exit wounds” = author displays how damaging the exit of her son from her life through ords that connote to suffering such as “spasms” and “graze”
During the time this poem was written, many families were being torn apart by the devastating consequences of Afhanistan and Iraw wars.
Weir avoids contextualising the setting of the poem to allude to the enduring suffering that takes place worldwide within war
Three days before Armistice Sunday.
use of temporal deixis establishes the theme of remembrance and mourning
this day represents mourning for all
spasms of paper red
effects of conflict, loss and absence
Metaphor
Red connotes with blood and death, creating a powerful and emotive image.
The colour red is also associated with love and passion, reflecting the strong relationship the mother has with the son, generating sympathy from the readers and highlights the mother’s pain.
“Spasms” - onomatopoeia - creates an uncomfortable feeling and also suggests injury , which could reflect how she is constantly tormented by the fact that her son is dead or may die
Also, spams are an uncontrollable thing highlighting how the mother is trying hard to control her own emotions which are spasms of painful thoughts but could also imply the inevitable nature of the son’s death
‘paper’ implies a disposability and weakness which Weir relates to the loss of life on the battlefield.
Sellotape bandaged around my hand
effects of conflict, loss and absence and memory
“sellotape” has domestic connotations for fixing and sticking objects together which could suggest how the mother is trying to fix herself emotionally
“bandaged” has connotations of injury, suggesting that the mother is emotionally injured
militaristic semantic field, firmly establishing tone and mood of the poem as one of injury and loss.
instils to the audience how even simple tasks such as removing fluff are a reminder of the conflict = the leaving of her son haunts her
I resisted the impulse to run my fingers through the gelled blackthorns of your hair
Metaphor
“blackthorns” biblical reference to the story of Jesus crucifixion symbolising how the son went out to war to sacrifice himself for others. This could also be interpretated to suggest that the son’s condemnation to death by going to war is unjust just like Jesus’ crucifixion and reminds us of the sodier’s youth and vulnerability
use of tactile imagery throughout the poem highlights how desperately she wants to touch the son, despite having “blackthorns” which has connotations of harm and danger
An “impulse” is an involuntary action, therefore resisting one could signify her strength and how focused she is on appearing strong to her son, creating a heart-aching image in the readers mind
“flattened,rolled,turn into felt… slowly melting”
effects of conflict, loss and absence
- fragitliy
- process of felt
- army tanks
- enjambment
- composure
The process of making “felt” is building up loads of material on top of each other to create a big mass of felt. This could be referred to the mother’s grief and sadness building up to create a large untouchable mass of sadness.
this may illustrate her weakness at this moment as we associate felt with fragility abd instability = weakend by the experience of loss
“flattened, rolled” could also symbolise the army tanks and how they flatten and destroy everything. Also, the enjambment demonstrates to the reader how she isn’t thinking clearly and has no control over what she is saying just like how she has no control if her son goes to war or not.
“melting” connotes to having no structure which suggests how the mother has lost composure but also lost authority over her son due to war
the phrase slowly melting associates with frozen emotions that are slowly being let out. this links with the quote ‘released a songbird’ that shows the mother has now fully let her feelings go and is now willing to move on and let go of the son’s memories and his childhood days.
the world over flowing like a treasure chest.
intoxicated.
effects of war, propaganda (links to kamikaze)
This 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” it makes it seem fantasy-like , almost like a ques, which highlights how warped the son’s view of war was and displays his initial excitement
alternatively, this could be interpretated as the mother being overwhelmed by her feelings and unable to contain them.
hoping to hear your playground voice catching on the wind.
Highlights how desperate she is for her son to come back adding to the melanchony tone of the poem
a metaphor for elusiveness and fleetingness of the memory of her child just like the wind
shows she hasn’t yet accepted his death because she is still hanging on to memories of him
implying she misses a time when her son was young, free and innocent and wants to remember this.
disrupting a blockade of yellow bias binding around your blazer.
(effects of war, loss and absence)
Metaphor
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 emphasise 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.
The alliteration (b-b-b) creates a stuttering sound showing her nervousness of letting her child go to war.
use of the plosive alliteration of “b” = ominous reminder that the son is facing extreme violence at war
Released a song bird from it’s cage. Later a single dove flew from the pear tree’
could symbolise how his soul is being released into the afterlife = the mother is finally accepting loss, an attempt to overcoming emotional attachment to son
symbolises how the mother has allowed her son out into the world
could also symbolise her releasing all of her emotions out finally
A songbird gives off connotations of happiness and tranquillity, showing the beautiful relationship between her and her son, as well as the wonderful memories, which she had to let go when the son went to war
“songbird” also suggests that she still views her son as something fragile, something to be protected and yet she still lets him go. There is 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”. This gives off religious connotations that her son had found peace and 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
