Thursday, 25 April 2013
Wednesday, 24 April 2013
Poetry Analysis: 'Come On, Come Back' - Stevie Smith
Stevie Smith's war is both ancient and modern: she evokes images from the Napoleonic age, but also the modern world in which chemicals are used to harm or kill people.
Her poem was written in the 1950s, and she will have known all about such things as Zyklon-B, the gas used on the Jews in Nazi death camps.
Into this invented (and futuristic) background Stevie Smith introduces two characters: the war-damaged, tortured girl deprived of her memory and therefore her identity, and the pipe-playing (and for us not at all fiendish) enemy watchman. The short, sad drama creates a powerful poem of terror, despair and loss. The imagined song, 'Come on, come back' (words which have links with each stage of the drama), suggests one of those sad and haunting tunes ('Lili Marlene'? 'The Londonderry Air'? 'September Song'?) which everyone knows and everyone shares - including 'all the troops of all the armies', many of whom will never 'come back'.
This poem invites thought about at least two issues. One is the traumatic effects of war.
- 'War is mad, crazy; and it makes you crazy as well. All you can think about is whether in a minute it will be your turn to die.' (A survivor of the Rwanda massacre in 1994, when she was only 18).
- 'With tears in her eyes, she told me she had already died four times: that's the number of times the guards had simulated her execution. On one occasion they had stood her against a wall, told her she was going to be shot, and fired blanks at her...As we talked, it was clear that something had indeed died in her. She was only 15, and I was filled with silent rage about her torments.' (Iranian women accused of political offences).
- 'They threatened me with a knife, then held me down and raped me. I said to one of them '"how would you feel if someone treated your mother, sister or daughter like this?" He hesitated, as if he no longer wanted to go on. Then he went to the door and asked if anyone else wanted to rape me. There was nobody, so they left.' (A Croatian woman during the Bosnian war)
'I can't work, and I keep forgetting things. The doctor said it was traumatic epilepsy and explained that it was caused by the war. He told me that I had experienced many terrible things, that I should try to regain control of my life, but that it would be very difficult.' (A woman who as a teenager in the 1980s had fought in the civil war in El Salvador)
Another issue is whether or not women should fight as soldiers. In civil and guerrilla wars woman have joined the men in combat, and in invaded countries women have sometimes committed acts of violence. But the number of women in professional armies (though now increasing in NATO countries) is very small. Many soldiers don't welcome women in what they see as an essentially male environment. Few armies allow women to fight on the front line on the ground, though there are women who think they should. They are not viewed with sympathy by the majority of women, however. But in some countries, including Britain, women are allowed to fly fighter and bomber aircraft, and fire their missiles. The element of distance from the targets is presumably what makes this acceptable to military authorities.
Her poem was written in the 1950s, and she will have known all about such things as Zyklon-B, the gas used on the Jews in Nazi death camps.
Into this invented (and futuristic) background Stevie Smith introduces two characters: the war-damaged, tortured girl deprived of her memory and therefore her identity, and the pipe-playing (and for us not at all fiendish) enemy watchman. The short, sad drama creates a powerful poem of terror, despair and loss. The imagined song, 'Come on, come back' (words which have links with each stage of the drama), suggests one of those sad and haunting tunes ('Lili Marlene'? 'The Londonderry Air'? 'September Song'?) which everyone knows and everyone shares - including 'all the troops of all the armies', many of whom will never 'come back'.
This poem invites thought about at least two issues. One is the traumatic effects of war.
- 'War is mad, crazy; and it makes you crazy as well. All you can think about is whether in a minute it will be your turn to die.' (A survivor of the Rwanda massacre in 1994, when she was only 18).
- 'With tears in her eyes, she told me she had already died four times: that's the number of times the guards had simulated her execution. On one occasion they had stood her against a wall, told her she was going to be shot, and fired blanks at her...As we talked, it was clear that something had indeed died in her. She was only 15, and I was filled with silent rage about her torments.' (Iranian women accused of political offences).
- 'They threatened me with a knife, then held me down and raped me. I said to one of them '"how would you feel if someone treated your mother, sister or daughter like this?" He hesitated, as if he no longer wanted to go on. Then he went to the door and asked if anyone else wanted to rape me. There was nobody, so they left.' (A Croatian woman during the Bosnian war)
'I can't work, and I keep forgetting things. The doctor said it was traumatic epilepsy and explained that it was caused by the war. He told me that I had experienced many terrible things, that I should try to regain control of my life, but that it would be very difficult.' (A woman who as a teenager in the 1980s had fought in the civil war in El Salvador)
Another issue is whether or not women should fight as soldiers. In civil and guerrilla wars woman have joined the men in combat, and in invaded countries women have sometimes committed acts of violence. But the number of women in professional armies (though now increasing in NATO countries) is very small. Many soldiers don't welcome women in what they see as an essentially male environment. Few armies allow women to fight on the front line on the ground, though there are women who think they should. They are not viewed with sympathy by the majority of women, however. But in some countries, including Britain, women are allowed to fly fighter and bomber aircraft, and fire their missiles. The element of distance from the targets is presumably what makes this acceptable to military authorities.
Poetry Analysis: 'Poppies' - Jane Weir
In 'Poppies', Weir is comparing the tranquillity of nature with the carnage of war. The poem shows how the soldiers sacrificed their life to “ransom” the hills of France; thus showing how France’s freedom was paid by the blood of these young men.
Poppies are used as a symbol of both war and sacrifice. The effect of this is to help the reader remember the people who sacrificed their lives for our freedom. Furthermore, the presence of poppies gives the poem multiple meanings and methods of interpretation. Poppies can be seen to symbolise death, eternal sleep or remembrance. All three of these can be applied to the poem.
The poem expresses the feelings a mother has about the death of her son in a war far away.
The form of the poem appears to be strong and regular. This shows that the narrator is trying to hold in the emotions that have been stirred up by the sight of poppies.
The structure of the poem however shows that there is a lot of emotion beneath the surface: the length of the stanzas and the lines begins to change more strongly.
Time goes backwards and forwards between when he was a child, when he left for war and when she is actually telling the story
The poem also creates several layers of language:
The poem is set in the present day but reaches right back to the beginning of the Poppy Day tradition. Armistice Sunday began as a way of marking the end of the First World War in 1918. It was set up so people could remember the hundreds and thousands of ordinary men who had been killed in the First World War. Today, the event is used to remember soldiers of all wars who have died since then.
Form and Structure
The poem appears to have a strong, regular sense of form. There are four clear stanzas, the first and last with six lines, the second with 11 and the third 12.
On closer inspection, however, we can see a great deal of movement within this outwardly regular form. 19 lines out of 35 have breaks in the middle of the lines - marked by commas or more strongly by full-stops. These breaks are called caesuras.
This careful variation in form suggests the inner emotion of a narrator who is trying to remain calm and composed but is breaking with sadness inside.
The biggest movement in the poem, however, is in the narrative structure – how the story is told. The time sequence keeps changing along with her emotions. It goes from
It ends with her suspended, on the hill, between the present and the past.
Language and Imagery
It is as if the present holds too much pain and her memories can only be expressed if distanced in imagery held safely in the past.
Futility - Although written from a different point of view, Owen's poem has similarities on a number of levels. Its emotional impact comes from linking the violent world of the battlefield with the idyllic life of home. It also draws on rich natural imagery to contrast with the death being described. Finally, its power comes from the rejection of the beautiful poetic images which cannot compensate for the terrible loss of her son.
The Falling Leaves – This poem is similar in tone. Its power comes from the contrast between the calm delivery of the words and the violent subject matter. Another connection is that both Poppies and The Falling Leaves are written by women. They therefore offer important female perspectives on a subject that is dominated, and indeed generally waged, by men.
Examples of language techniques used in 'Poppies':
Personification:
“the spiteful rattle where the masked machine guns play”
Metaphor:
“liquid tune” and “shrapnel’s song"
Poppies are used as a symbol of both war and sacrifice. The effect of this is to help the reader remember the people who sacrificed their lives for our freedom. Furthermore, the presence of poppies gives the poem multiple meanings and methods of interpretation. Poppies can be seen to symbolise death, eternal sleep or remembrance. All three of these can be applied to the poem.
The poem expresses the feelings a mother has about the death of her son in a war far away.
The form of the poem appears to be strong and regular. This shows that the narrator is trying to hold in the emotions that have been stirred up by the sight of poppies.
The structure of the poem however shows that there is a lot of emotion beneath the surface: the length of the stanzas and the lines begins to change more strongly.
Time goes backwards and forwards between when he was a child, when he left for war and when she is actually telling the story
The poem also creates several layers of language:
- It uses literal images (e.g. poppies, blazer) to express strong detailed memories that have not faded with time.
- Similes and metaphors to express deep emotions, such as
"gelled blackthorns"
,"released a song bird"
and"like a treasure chest"
,"like a wishbone"
- Finally it uses symbols, particularly the dove and the poppies to show how general meanings shared by us all can also contain deeply personal feelings as well.
The poem is set in the present day but reaches right back to the beginning of the Poppy Day tradition. Armistice Sunday began as a way of marking the end of the First World War in 1918. It was set up so people could remember the hundreds and thousands of ordinary men who had been killed in the First World War. Today, the event is used to remember soldiers of all wars who have died since then.
Form and Structure
The poem appears to have a strong, regular sense of form. There are four clear stanzas, the first and last with six lines, the second with 11 and the third 12.
On closer inspection, however, we can see a great deal of movement within this outwardly regular form. 19 lines out of 35 have breaks in the middle of the lines - marked by commas or more strongly by full-stops. These breaks are called caesuras.
This careful variation in form suggests the inner emotion of a narrator who is trying to remain calm and composed but is breaking with sadness inside.
The biggest movement in the poem, however, is in the narrative structure – how the story is told. The time sequence keeps changing along with her emotions. It goes from
"Three days before"(line 1) to
"Before you left"(line 3) to
"After you'd gone"(line 23) to
"later"(line 25) and the present in
"this is where it has led me"on line 26.
It ends with her suspended, on the hill, between the present and the past.
Language and Imagery
Sound
Like the form, the sounds of the poem are restrained. Rhyme would seem inappropriately lively.Language
The colour and texture of the poppies is expressed through powerful language in the first stanza. The detailed description of the blazer is emphasised through alliteration on"bias binding… blazer". We feel the closeness between mother and child the moment she kneels to pin the poppy to the lapel. In words such as
"spasms",
"disrupting"and
"blockade"however, she may be also recalling the violence of his death.
Imagery
This sense of her blocking out the memory of his violent death with a sweeter, purer memory is sustained in the second stanza:"Sellotape bandaged around my hand". This image carries echoes of battlefield injury as well as cleaning the cat hairs off the blazer. The contrast between the death in battle and the domestic happiness (the boy has been cuddling his cat) is powerful.
Metaphor and symbolism
In the third stanza, the language becomes metaphorical and symbolic. The door to the house is the door to the world. The song-bird is a metaphor for the mother setting the child free. This then changes into the dove, the symbol of peace – but here the peace the son has found is only the peace of death.Attitudes, themes and ideas
The poem is about the nature of grief. The mother is speaking directly to her son but a son who shifts in time. There is:- The son leaving home for school on his own for the first time.
- The son who has just been killed.
- Beneath the surface the son dying violently in a field hospital in Afghanistan.
"I traced…".
It is as if the present holds too much pain and her memories can only be expressed if distanced in imagery held safely in the past.
Comparison
Futility - Although written from a different point of view, Owen's poem has similarities on a number of levels. Its emotional impact comes from linking the violent world of the battlefield with the idyllic life of home. It also draws on rich natural imagery to contrast with the death being described. Finally, its power comes from the rejection of the beautiful poetic images which cannot compensate for the terrible loss of her son.
The Falling Leaves – This poem is similar in tone. Its power comes from the contrast between the calm delivery of the words and the violent subject matter. Another connection is that both Poppies and The Falling Leaves are written by women. They therefore offer important female perspectives on a subject that is dominated, and indeed generally waged, by men.
Examples of language techniques used in 'Poppies':
Personification:
“the spiteful rattle where the masked machine guns play”
Metaphor:
“liquid tune” and “shrapnel’s song"
Homework task for Friday's lesson (26th April 2013)
In Friday's lesson you will be completing a timed written task.
In order to prepare for this, you need to revise:
'Extract from Out of the Blue'
'Come On, Come Back'
Read and annotate:
'Poppies'
In order to prepare for this, you need to revise:
'Extract from Out of the Blue'
'Come On, Come Back'
Read and annotate:
'Poppies'
Tuesday, 23 April 2013
Poetry Analysis: 'Digging' - Seamus Heaney
Picture the poet sitting at his writing desk looking out on his father digging the flower bed.
A large section of Heaney's body of work deals with separation and isolation. His isolation from family is clear on his return from school for his brother's funeral in "Mid- Term Break"; his fears about farming are explored in "The Barn" and "Early Purges"; his admiration for his father and frustration at his own lack of skill are presented in "Follower" whilst his lack of understanding of nature is expressed ironically in "Death of a Naturalist". Digging is a coming to terms with all these issues. Essentially circular in structure, the changes made between the first lines and the closing lines reveal that Heaney has found an answer. He may never be as skilled as his forebears in working the land but his skill with a pen can recreate that lifestyle, keep it fresh and ever-present in the minds of his readers.
The poem begins in the present. Heaney is writing; his father is digging. This is as it always is. It is important to note that Heaney "looks down" at his father's "straining rump". Literally his position at the window is elevated but we also get the sense that Heaney somehow feels superior to manual work and that he is not comfortable with this feeling. The description of his father's backside as a "rump" aligns him with the natural world.
The next stanza presents us with a flashback to previous years before his father's retirement from farming: "Bends low, comes up twenty years away". We move effortlessly from flowerbed to potato drills allowing Heaney to describe his father's skills. The paradoxical "coarse boot nestled" shows the physicality of digging alongside the love for it.
Heaney uses a two line stanza beginning with the exclamatory "By God" to take us further back to his grandfather's digging skills. The exclamation and the conversational tone add a feeling of being with Heaney as he reminisces. Neatly Heaney has taken us back to his forefathers to show that working with the land has always been a tradition in the family. He has broken this chain by choosing to become a writer.
The next stanza is a memory of visiting his grandfather as he cuts peat from the bog. The "bottle corked sloppily with paper" reflects Heaney's clumsiness in practical matters but also a different use of paper to the one he is really skilled at. This is a family proud of their achievements which are measured by a spade and the ability to handle one: "My grandfather could cut more turf in a day than any other man on Toner's bog".
The penultimate stanza reveals the difficulties created by Heaney's wish to write. The "curt cuts through living roots" are not only the sharp edge of the spade cutting through living turf. They are the sharp words spoken as Heaney cuts his ties with his family's traditional means of earning a living.
And so we return to the beginning lines of the poem with the significant change from "as snug as a gun" to "I'll dig with it". Heaney recognizes that his skill with a pen is comparable to that of his forefathers with a spade. He also realizes that he can continue the love for skilled work with the land through his writing.
Just as his grandfather was "digging down and down for the good turf" so will Heaney dig down and down for the good stuff that makes his poetry so exquisite.
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