Poppies and War Photographer Flashcards
In Poppies, what is the poem about?
The poem presents the point of view, feelings and memories of a mother whose son has gone to war. It looks at the conflict of emotions of the families left behind.
In Poppies, what is the contrast of imagery and what does this convey?
Contrast of nature of the son going to war, then looking at perspective of families left behind. This conveys an emphasis of conflicting emotions in the mother.
In Poppies, what is the key quotation?
‘The dove pulled freely against the sky, an ornamental stitch’ - the son (ornanment) was seen as inconsequential, metaphorically something to remember. The repetition of bird imagery connotes peace and freedom.
In Poppies, what is the link to another poem?
War photographer, both about the domestic impact of conflict; memories and flashbacks, both have 4 regular stanza, neither narrators fought in the war zone.
In Poppies, how would you describe the form of the poem?
In the narrative structure, the time sequence keeps changing as do her emotions. It goes from her son leaving home from school for the first time, her son being killed, then to her son dying violently in a feild hospital in Afgahnistan. When she is in the present, this is significant because it is only for a short period of time, as if it holds too much pain, and her memories can only be expressed form a distant, far in the past.
Form = Dramatic Monologue (we do not hear about the son himself).
In War Photographer, what is the poem about?
A war photographer who has returned home and is devoloping his photos. The poem emphasises how out of touch people are about the truth of war. The contrast between the public and warzones, thus emphasising their detachment.
In War Photographer, what do the key rhyming couplets convey?
They convey the bitterness of the photographer, as he is not praised for being in harms way, highlighting the difficulty dealing with these experiences.
In War Photographer, what is a key quotation?
‘All flesh is grass.’ - metaphor emphasises the scale of deth and fragility of life; suggests the life is meaningless to the people at home just like moweing the lawn. The short simple sentence builds tension and significance to the fact that the people are out of touch about the truth of war.
In War Photographer, what is a link to another poem?
Poppies, both poems explore the suffering that is caused from conflict. However, in poppies, suffering goes on forever however in war photographer, the citizens forget (a temporary impact).
In War Photographer, what does the cyclical structure make?
Starts with the return from the trip, ends with going on the trip. Like an inescapable suffering.
In Poppies, what types of structure is it, and what does this create?
Free verse, different stanza length, enjambment, caesura; which creates a chaotic disjointed termoil of the impact on the speaker.
