Structure For Poems

Question 1

War photographer structure and to affect

Answer 1

The poem is laid out in four regular six-line stanzas, with each stanza ending in a rhyming couplet. This structure is interesting since its very rigid order contrasts with the chaotic, disturbing images described in the poem.

• regular rhythm reflects photographers attempts to order his thoughts
• oxymoron “ordinary pain”
• internal rhyme between “beers” and “tears”

Question 2

Remains structure and effect

Answer 2

Enjambment - suggests the nervous story telling, might be over but it isn’t

The final stanza consists of only two lines and therefore stands out, emphasising the fact the speaker cannot rid himself of the memory of the killing.

Different line lengths make it uncomfortable for reader

In media res - ‘on another ocassion’ helps us to understand how the soldiers themselves are feeling

Repetition of ‘somebody else’ to put blame on others, but when we SHIFT to his home he says ‘my’ to show when he’s home he takes all the blame and has to live with his choices - shift shows that the impact of war is personal

Set in present tense - reliving experiences

Use of tautology (saying it again in a different way) - “all three of a kind”, “all three” in one stanza

Question 3

Poppies structure and effect

Answer 3

Poppies is written in first person. Long sentences and enjambment reflect a sprawling, rambling tone. Caesura is present, which masks the mother’s emotions. Poppies is written in chronological order, although the narrator’s past and present emotions intermingle through grief.

• flash back to the child’s youth

Question 4

Bayonet charge structure and effect

Answer 4

• In media res ‘suddenly’- puts reader in sense of confusion which helps us sympathise with reader
• Enjambment and caesura between stanzas - disorganised, chaotic structure - reflects the chaos of war and helps us to understand their experience better —> forward movement and lack of control, contemplates what he is doing there
• Repetition of ‘raw’ - can’t express the true horrors of war so instead refers to ‘exposure’ as it is so horrific as is father was in war
• semantic fields of war and nature are juxtaposed, showing impact of war

Question 5

Exposure structure and effects

Answer 5

• Each stanza has an anti-climatic ending - this helps the reader empathise as it reflects the anti climatic waiting of war that is killing them
• Repetitive rhyme scheme to show the repetitive nature of war
• Pararhyme (not full rhymes) - reflects the unease of the situation (‘nervous’ and ‘knife us’)
• frequent Enjambment and caesura
• rhetorical questions to emphasise the hopelessness of their situation

Question 6

Kamikaze structure and effect

Answer 6

Tight structure -reflects the tight control of the military and the national expectation a pilot should do
In free verse and Enjambment- reflects the freedoms the pilot wants to have a there is no rhyme and he has freedom
The conflict between the freedom the pilot wants to have and his national duty is reflected by the contrasting use of structure
Only 3 full stops - used later in poem to emphasise that later it was worst. Shorter sentences link to more painful memories
Unreliable speaker “she thought” - she doesn’t know
Sibilance to emphasise the sea - linking to nature

Question 7

Charge of the light brigade structure and effect

Answer 7

• very fast tempo —> doesn’t give you time to reflect
• -> done through methods such as sibilance
• anadiplosis (slows down) at the end of each stanza (more sombre tone for the six hundred)
• in media res

Question 8

For unseen poetry, what six things do you need to talk about?

Answer 8

Title
Beginning
OAPAIMS
OAPAIMS
STRUCTURE
ENDING
TBOOSE