specified poems Flashcards
Mametz wood
Themes- 5
Key points- 6
Context- 3
Comparison- 4
THEMES: history, conflict, youth, nature, place.
KEY POINTS OF ANALYSIS:
unexpectedness, disruptiveness, inescapability of death,
performative nature of violence
collective impact of war- generational
Fragility of life and youth
Death corrupts nature
The past is always uncovered
CONTEXT:
A significant battle of WW1- 20,000 Welsh volunteer soldiers who likely were from the same area and knew each other before they died together.
Expected to make a frontal attack across a large open space in broad daylight- smokescreen malfunctioned.
As they prepared to attack, the volunteers sang Welsh hymns and declared their allegiance to their country.
COMPARISON:
The strand at Lough beg- unexpectedness of death
Casualty- collective impact of war
In memoriam FL- Violence strips autonomy
Triptych- Violence stains landscape
The Farrier
Themes- 5
Key points- 4
Context- 2
Comparison- 1
THEMES: Other lives, masculinity, craft, heritage, females
KEY POINTS OF ANALYSIS:
It is part of masculinity to corrupt and change females
The subject is comfortable in his masculinity
Un-natural/ imbalanced structure
Women possess internal power
CONTEXT:
Farrier- traditionally male career- difficult and multi-skilled
Important part of Welsh cultural landscape
COMPARISON:
The harvest bow- Typically feminine qualities in strong men/ men can’t communicate with words
Winter Swans
Themes- 4
Key points- 5
Context- 5
Comparison- 2
THEMES: Healthy relationships, nature, peace
KEY POINTS OF ANALYSIS:
Lack of communication
Natural world mirrors humans
Disconnection to connection
Bad circumstances, good relationship
Nature is harmonious and peaceful
CONTEXT:
Sheers has a large interest in the natural world
Part of the collection which made his wife fall in love with him
A pair of swans represents love and devotion
A singular swan represents temporary beauty
A cultural good omen
COMPARISON:
The otter- brief moments of disconnection overcome by the strength of a relationship
The badgers- nature mimics human world.
Night windows
Themes- 5
Key points- 3
Context- 2
Comparison-2
THEMES: Relationships, partings, females, Appearances vs Reality, gender dynamics
KEY POINTS OF ANALYSIS:
Women are uncaring, unpredictable and weaponised
Women are blamed for the ending of relationships
Themes of voyeurism and performance
CONTEXT:
Failed relationships before his marriage
Grew up around strong women
COMPARISON:
An afterwards- Women as having power and control
The otter- women in control of men’s emotions
Border country
Themes- 5
Key points- 6
Context-2
Comparison-1
THEMES: Childhood, landscape, country (negative), masculinity, nature vs industry
KEY POINTS OF ANALYSIS:
Wales is crossing the ‘border’ into a new age of depletion
War is part of masculinity
Strong sense of foreshadowing through the semantic field of death
Nature grows with man
Contradiction of youth and death
Death destroys the novelty of childhood
CONTEXT:
The death of his friends father thrust him into the life of an adult and opened Sheers’s eyes to a world of mortality and destruction.
War is an unshakeable image for Sheers
COMPARISON:
The Toome road- confrontation of destruction as a child.
Farther
Themes- 4
Key points- 7
Context- 1
Comparison- 1
THEMES: Family, nature/ landscape, growing up, miscommunication
KEY POINTS OF ANALYSIS:
Sheers is moving further into the role of an adult and replacing his father
Feels responsibility and protection for his father- reversal of roles
Ambiguity about subjects
Landscape stimulates relationship
The axis of time is tilting
Sheers begins to understand his father
Free verse- no disconnection
CONTEXT:
Skirrid Hill- Myth that part of the hill broke off at the moment of Christ’s crucifixion- themes of division in the poem
COMPARISON:
The harvest bow- Father/son relationships- lack of communication but mutual understanding
Joseph Jones
Themes- 2
Key points- 4
Context- 1
Comparison- 1
THEMES: Masculinity, other lives
KEY POINTS OF ANALYSIS:
The regularity of ‘Joseph’ establishes the subject as a place holder for a familiar masculinity
Men destruct and take
Freedom of masculinity comes from taking innocence- passing a test
Blurred lines between innocence and maturity
Self obsession and lack of finesse
Sheers feels superior
CONTEXT:
“Getting your wings” is RAF slang for passing a test
COMPARISON:
Oysters- greed and destruction of man
Late spring
Themes- 3
Key points- 4
Context- 2
Comparison-
THEMES: Masculinity, craft, heritage
KEY POINTS OF ANALYSIS:
Grandfather represents a pure, strong from of masculinity
Masculinity is destruction against a vulnerable force.
Contrasting- early/late, masculine/feminine, pain/comfort
Tercets- un-natural
CONTEXT:
A tribute to Owen sheer’s rural childhood- but non-pastoral to show his intent to impress his grandfather
Tercets- ancient Welsh form of poetry
COMPARISON:
The Harvest bow- Male relationships, craft, moment of connection through rural traditions
Y Gaer
Themes- 4
Key points- 5
Context- 2
Comparison- 2
THEMES: History, grief, nature/landscape, masculinity
KEY POINTS OF ANALYSIS:
Nature provides comfort and solace- restorative
Pathetic fallacy
Tercets- grief causes imbalance
Un-natural
Men = violence- against mother nature?
CONTEXT:
1/2 of a diptych
Y gaer- a roman hill fort in Brecon
COMPARISON:
Casualty- Pathetic fallacy
The Strand- Heaney believes the landscape will heal his cousin- despite the fact it facilitated his destruction.
The Hill Fort
Themes- 4
Key points- 6
Context- 3
Comparison- 1
THEMES- Heritage, grief, childhood, relationships
KEY POINTS OF ANALYSIS:
Death is untimely and hugely destructive on a life which was carefree and unfinished.
The line of succession/ heritage has been broken
Nature is a silent, non-judgemental method to remove pain
Comfort is found in heritage/ landscape
Immortalises his son in the only consistent presence- nature
Volta in scene seven that reminds audience of mortality
CONTEXT:
1/2 of a diptych
Focuses on a father and son familiar to the Sheers family
Volta in the collection- poems become related to heritage and family as opposed to relationships.
COMPARISON:
A postcard from North Antrim: A wild, youthful force is removed via an untimely death.
Flag
Themes- 1
Key points- 4
Context- 3
Comparison- 1
THEMES: Nationality- negative
KEY POINTS OF ANALYSIS:
Wales traps its citizens and renders them unable to achieve their dreams.
The Welsh flag has lost its power/ worth
Welsh folklore is better than the reality of life as a Welsh citizen
Wales is unable to adapt to modernity
CONTEXT:
Sheers has travelled a lot and considers himself a globetrotter- perhaps indicating a distaste for his own homeland.
Prologue by Logue- a 1950’s poet associated with revival- pacifist
Abergavenny is a medieval town- Sheers’s school is one of the oldest in Britain
COMPARISON:
The Strand- A cultural distaste for homeland
The Steelworks
Themes- 4
Key points- 7
Context- 3
Comparison- 1
THEMES: Masculinity, nature, loss of industry, identity
KEY POINTS OF ANALYSIS:
Nature has reclaimed a place that once replaced it.
Masculine stereotypes of strength
Men are nothing without the steelworks- identity destroyed
Semantic field of machinery and weightlifting
Men worship machinery
Harsh, clinical tone
Tercets- homeland
CONTEXT:
Ebbw Vale steelworks- important part of Welsh landscape
Held 14,000 workers
Before the steelworks, a place for farmers and nature to run rampant and free.
Ebbw vale was devastated by the loss of the Steelworks- resorted to charity
COMPARISON:
The singers house- Loss of identity
Drinking with Hitler
Themes- 3
Key points- 5
Context- 5
Comparison- 1
THEMES: Masculinity, power, femininity
KEY POINTS OF ANALYSIS:
Masculinity is corruptive
Generalises men as strong and women as weak
Women and men can be deceptive
Men possess the power- Sheers feels emasculated
Title sets precedent and tone
Power is un-natural
CONTEXT:
Dr Hitler- Chose the name for shock value to his white opposition
Hitler’s wife fled him due to abuse
Spearheaded the invasion of many white farms in Zimbabwe
Fought for financial compensation for Veterans by exaggerating the extent of their injuries
Never fought in the war against the Rhodesian government but received compensation
COMPARISON:
The Harvest bow- Conflicting ideas of masculinity
L.A Evening
Themes- 3
Key points- 6
Context- 3
Comparison- 1
THEMES: Femininity, performance, aging
KEY POINTS OF ANALYSIS:
A tragic sense of loneliness and vulnerability despite her social contributions
Themes of surveillance
Women are subjected to violence from others
Insignificant and impersonal
Un-named
Women are unstable in their positions as they age
CONTEXT:
Lived in California
Won 4 esteemed awards
Starred in Great expectations twice- once as Estella and once as Mrs Havisham
COMPARISON:
The Guttural muse- Voyeurism of a younger generation and reflection- feelings of isolation and missing out
The Singing Men
Themes- 4
Key points- 4
Context- 3
Comparison- 2
THEMES: Borders, outcasts, identity, other lives
KEY POINTS OF ANALYSIS:
A collective group of marginalised men who are always on the outskirts
Universal and impersonal
Metonyms- the men’s value comes from their collectiveness and they possess no individual worth- only what they represent.
A sense of sympathy for the unfortunate lives of the men while retaining a detachment from doing anything about it.
CONTEXT:
Themes of separation and borders- The Welsh border in which Sheers was raised upon.
The men are not unique to one place- confronts Sheers’s opposing homelands
His cultural and geographical awareness highlights how he is widely travelled
COMPARISON:
The singers house- The power of music
The guttural muse- Separation and isolation
