Poppies Analysis

Question 1

War imagery used in poppies

Answer 1

Stanza 1:“Spasms of paper red, disrupting a blockade” - war imagery at home, violent pain, she remembers the precise visual imagery
Second stanza is long in comparison to the first as it is about her memory of her child as a small child - painful
“A winter coat or reinforcements of scarf”
“Sellotape bandaged around my hand”
ALL OF THESE HAVE CONTRASTS BETWEEN DOMESTIC LIFE AND MILITARY LIFE SUGGESTING THE PAIN IS CONSTANTLY ON THE SPEAKERS MIND

Question 2

Quotation that show ambiguity

Answer 2

“I pinned onto your lapel, crimped petals” is it for war, or has he died

Question 3

Effect of the Enjambment from stanza 1 to 2

Answer 3

“Turned into felt,// slowly melting.” - as she is saying goodbye, she can not verbalise it so the events are all blurred together

Question 4

Song bird quotation and analysis

Answer 4

“Released a song bird from it’s cage”

• metaphor for letting go of her son, has he died or gone to war
• the bird is given freedom but the son is not
• happiness and community

Question 5

Dove quotation and analysis

Answer 5

“Later a single bird flew from the pear tree” - power of nature constantly conveyed
- Dove could be a symbol of hope, wants him to come back
- (allusion) doves are a religious symbol for peace + —> sense of internal peace, new beginning
Or negative: death of son, no peace
- contrasting image: peace vs war

Question 6

How does the structure reflect the mothers feelings?

Answer 6

It’s in dramatic monologue form - we don’t hear from the son to emphasise the pain caused for the often ignored mother
Free verse, no organised rhyme, different sized stanzas, enjambment, caesura - to create a chaotic structure to reflect the chaotic impact on those at home during the war

Question 7

Who wrote Poppies

Answer 7

Jane Weir