Vergissmeinnicht Flashcards
(V) themes
- death
- treatment of the dead
- impact of conflict
- loss of loves ones
- understanding the enemy
(V) author background (Keith Douglas)
- went to war in WWII
- was killed in action
- was respectful of German soldiers, treating prisoners with decency and not killing the unarmed
- was anti war
(V) structure
- rhyme - inconsistent, reflecting the changing attitude of the speaker
- rhythm - Iambic Tetrameter, but beats per line vary - avoiding traditional rhyme. This reflects how norms are reversed in war
(V) “nightmare ground”
Metaphor
The brutality of the war haunts the speaker
(V) “he hit my tank”
Pronoun & accusatory tone
The soldier cannot look at his enemy as human
Also he had no other choice than to kill him
(V) “Look.”
Full stop creating caesural pause
He is considering who the soldier he killed was
(V) “Steffi. Vergissmeinnicht.”
Full stops create caesural pause and slow pace
The reader now reflects on the impact of the soldier’s death on his loved ones
(V) “mocked at by his own equipment”
anthropomorphism
Shows how the soldier was ineffective in battle and that he was normal
he didn’t demonstrate the qualities of his uniform or emblem and disintegrated before his equipment
This also demonstrates imagery of horror
(V) “But she would weep to see today”
Mix of alliteration and sibilance + conjunction
Emphasises grief and mimics the sound of tears
Also shows the speaker considering the emotions of the dead soldier’s loved ones - a changing opinion
(V) “like a cave”
Simile
Emphasises the cruelty of war on the soldier, who has been dismembered
(V) “lover and killer”
Juxtaposition
Speaker recognizes that there was more to his enemy than war
(V) “one body and one heart”
repetition
Demonstrating the dual aspects to the life of the enemy soldier - humanizing him
(V) “death who had the soldier singled”
Personification and sibilance
Speaker believes war has destroyed humanity’s ability to respect difference
